Before ‘The Wolf of Wall Street,’ Margot Robbie’s First Credited Role Is in This Forgotten, Gritty ‘Law & Order’-Style Series

Margot Robbie‘s experience in acting may have been fleeting, but it paved the way to an industry that would soon be taken by storm. At just 18 years old, Robbie made her television debut in the Australian drama City Homicide, appearing as Caitlin Brentford in 2008. As it would turn out, her role was small, though it not only provided a taste of acting that showcased the bold, audacious life she would bring to the screen and her career, but also marked a small step in her new career in acting.

When looking back, it is pretty evident that Robbie’s inaugural performance gave her both exposure and experience to launch her forward in what would be a meteoric rise. Within a few years, she would be starring alongside the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street, gaining critical acclaim, and eventually producing culturally significant movies such as Barbie. And now, next week, she will be making another return to the theaters with A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, a romantic fantasy movie which also co-stars Colin Farrell and Kevin Kline.

How ‘City Homicide’ Launched Margot Robbie’s Acting Career

City Homicide aired on the Seven Network as an Australian television drama from 2007 to 2011. The action primarily took place on the Homicide floor at the Melbourne office of the Police Department. It involved a team of six detectives and their superior as they solved complex murder cases. More than being simply driven by the focus on homicide investigations and the interaction of the regular cast (as experienced actors in City Homicide were), the series included guest-starring roles typically for younger actors like Robbie, albeit small.

Although it was a modest role for Robbie, it marked her first step into professional acting, which she handled very well for an 18-year-old, especially considering she was working alongside skilled professionals like Shane Bourne and Nadine Garner. Suffice it to say, she had experience on a production that had a significant television component, and while it is almost impossible to remember, any way you looked at it, she projected confidence and screen presence that had the potential to be a star performance.

Why Margot Robbie’s ‘City Homicide’ Appearance Feels Like ‘Law & Order: SVU’

For modern viewers, Robbie’s debut is somewhat akin to a guest appearance on a program like Law & Order: SVU. Similar to a young actor who appears as a witness, suspect, or victim on a highly revered and mostly episodic show, when Robbie appeared, her time was short but significant. This allowed them to have a contained, time-driven stress scenario, while demonstrating their multi-faceted abilities, handling extensive amounts of dialogue, and having to find their feet in what often feels like a performance in an incomprehensible, eccentric manner of a police procedural.

This format gave Robbie a “trial by fire” experience that honed her craft early on. Just as SVU has introduced countless actors to a national audience, City Homicide provided Robbie with exposure, professional discipline, and a taste of working under industry pressure. This invaluable first lesson would follow her to bigger productions in both television and film.

Margot Robbie’s Moves From TV Guest Roles to ‘A Big Bold Beautiful Journey’

Robbie’s earlier work in the U.S. included the ABC series Pan Am, which aired from 2011-2012, where she played Laura Cameron, a young stewardess in the glamorous and intense world of international flight in the sixties. Although the series only aired 14 episodes, Robbie displayed her ability to convey nuance in period drama with charm, vulnerability, and developing wit.

Her true breakthrough came in 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street, where she starred as Naomi, the wife of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jordan Belfort. Robbie’s audacious decision to slap DiCaprio in the audition sealed the role, and she went into her first significant U.S. feature film with reckless abandon; she even performed fully nude in a pivotal scene to stay true to the role. Since then, Robbie has established a presence as an actress and producer by co-founding LuckyChap Entertainment and releasing hit films such as Barbie and I, Tonya. She stars in A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, which is set to be released in theaters next week, and continues a career that started with that small but unforgettable first step on the stage in City Homicide.