Margot Robbie announces she is taking a break from acting

Margot Robbie has revealed she plans to step back as an actress following the success of her starring role in Barbie.

The Australian actress, 33, fronted Deadline's Awards Line issue and laid bare her ambitions to work off-screen after years building her acting portfolio.

Speaking to the publication, Margot said she wants to take a break from starring in films as she thinks everyone is 'tired' of seeing her after her role in Greta Gerwig's blockbuster.

'I also think everyone is tired of seeing me for the time being. I should probably disappear from the screens for a while,” she said.

“Honestly, if I made another movie too soon, people would be like, 'Her again? We just spent a whole summer playing with her. We're over it.'

Margot added, “I don't know what I'm going to do next, but I hope it lasts a while.”

The blonde beauty noted that she was also busy producing behind the screen.

Elsewhere in the interview, Margot laid bare her ambitions to direct her own film, after years of producing critically acclaimed content.

“I really want to direct,” she said. 'For the past seven years I've had the feeling that I wanted to direct. But I've always seen it as a privilege, not a right.'

Through her production company Lucky Chap, she has helped bring a variety of projects to the screen, including her 2017 rollercoaster drama I, Tonya.

Starring Margot as disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding, the picture was showered with praise and earned Allison Janney an Oscar for supporting actress.

Since then, Lucky Chap has given the world both of Emerald Fennell's films, her debut Promising Young Woman and this year's Saltburn.

The most resounding success to date, however, is Barbie, which turned out to be a global juggernaut that crossed the billion dollar mark at the box office.

“I've been slowly working towards feeling like I've earned the right to direct,” Margot said, “and I feel like I'm getting close to that feeling now.”

She reflected, “It's also hard because I've been fortunate to work with and learn from so many great directors. When something comes to mind, I often think, “Wouldn't it be great to act in them so I can watch them live?”

Margot said: 'It's funny how many directors ask me questions about the people I've worked with. They're like, 'Oh, Scorsese does a pre-light and then rehearses?' Or, “Does Damien Chazelle plan the music before the scene?” You realize that directors never get to see how other directors work.”

Referring to her Barbie director Greta Gerwig and her The Wolf Of Wall Street director Martin Scorsese, she said: “I get to see exactly how Greta does rehearsals and how Marty blocks, or doesn't. It's such a gift to learn firsthand from all these directors. But I would really like to direct.'

Margot clarified, “I'm not in a rush, because I feel like there will never be enough time to learn all the things I want to learn before I take that leap, but I definitely have that itch, and it's getting too strong.”

The Birds Of Prey star, who is originally from Dalby, Australia, said: 'I don't know how much longer I can keep it up.'

Margot explained that she has been fascinated by the details of cinematography since she got her break on the long-running Australian series Neighbours.

However, she was only able to scratch the itch when she appeared with Christina Ricci on the American television program Pan Am.

'I remember when I was at Pan Am, I bombarded the DP with a million questions. At Buren there was never time for that because we moved at an insane pace. Suddenly I was on a television show where we had the luxury of time. We shot one episode a month on Pan Am,” she said.

'Still fast by film standards, but I was coming from one episode a day. Now it was one a month, so in my eyes that was all the time in the world. It sometimes took 45 minutes to set up, so I just asked the director questions or bothered the DP.'

One of the show's directors of photography, John Lindley or Ron Fortunato, provided the book The Five C's Of Cinematography by Joseph V. Mascelli, who himself had worked as a cinematographer in the 1960s.

The Pan Am cameraman said to Margot, “Read this. You ask so many questions, just read this book” – and she still has her copy.

'He probably had enough of me. But I loved this book, I learned so much. I didn't go to film school or anything, and I wish I had, because I discovered how much I enjoy learning about this.”

With Barbie she became immersed in 'color science'. Come with a color table. Obviously I don't come up with the color table, but I think the scientists who do – and they really are scientists – are great.'

Her latest magazine interview hit the Internet on the same day it emerged that her Barbie performance is in the running for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Lead Actress.

She finds herself in a formidable category, going up against Emma Stone in Poor Things, Carey Mulligan in Maestro, breakout star Lily Gladstone in Killers Of The Flower Moon and Annette Bening in Nyad.

Last Sunday, Margot was nominated for the Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy film, but lost to Emma for Poor Things.