Having played Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad – where she was, by most accounts, the MVP – Margot Robbie is now running off to join a very different kind of circus. The Australian actress is set to play real-life trapeze artist Lillian Leitzel in Queen Of The Air, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film will be adapting the bestselling book by Dean N. Jensen, telling the story of Leitzel’s doomed love affair with fellow trapeze artist Alfredo Codona in the early 20th century.
At their peak, both Leitzel and Codona were among the biggest stars in the world, performing for the Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus. Leitzel’s signature move would require her to dislocate her shoulder – a move she did over a hundred times. We’d guess that current health & safety laws would preclude Robbie from doing anything like that.
At 5'5", Robbie is a fair bit taller than Leitzel’s diminutive 4'9", but this could be one of those commit-like-crazy roles that perks up the ears and eyes of awards voters come Oscar season.
There’s no word on directors, writers or co-stars just yet, so it’s certainly a vote of confidence from Warner Bros. in their star. Robbie’s next project to shoot will be Goodbye Christopher Robin, a biopic of Winnie The Pooh writer A.A. Milne.