Self-proclaimed “Christmas tyrant” Margot Robbie is sharing her ambitious holiday traditions. In a Dec. 14 appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” the actor and upcoming “Barbie” star spoke about making an ambitious Advent calendar for her husband her husband Tom Ackerley and learning the “Jingle Bell Rock” choreography from “Mean Girls” with her girlfriends. Robbie even used the thought of Santa’s nonexistence to help her cry on command in “Babylon.”
While bonding over her love of gift-giving with the late-night host, Robbie detailed the homemade Advent calendar she made her husband of six years. “I definitely overdid it this year,” Robbie said, explaining the arduous process of hiding Ackerly’s daily presents around their home in makeshift containers. “The presents started out really big and amazing, and now I’m running out of things to give him.”
“I’m a Christmas tyrant.”
Robbie’s passion for the holiday season extends beyond her family. “When I say I love Christmas, it’s more like I’m a Christmas tyrant,” Robbie said, before going on to share her epic addition to this year’s holiday party with her girlfriends. “This year we’re all going to dress up like they do in ‘Mean Girls’ and learn the ‘Mean Girls,’ dance,” Robbie told her friends, referring to the 2004 film’s talent show scene. “All the husbands and boyfriends [came together] and we showed up and did the dance for them.”
Funny enough, Robbie being Australian means her childhood and adolescent holidays always took place during the peak of summer. As a result, Robbie now prefers to spend the holiday in the types of traditional winter wonderland portrayed in film. “I’ve just always fallen in love with what I see in movies,” Robbie said.
Teeing up her new film “Babylon,” which follows the debauchery of 1920s Hollywood, Robbie spoke about a meta scene in which her character (an actor) is challenged to cry on command — a skill that Robbie of course possess in real life. “I worked on a soap for three years, so that was kind of a muscle I built,” Robbie said. “I just thought of something sad . . . like loved ones dying or Santa not being real.”