Saoirse Ronan was shocked by Margot Robbie’s chalk-white make-up and altered appearance when she first saw her dressed as Queen Elizabeth I when they were filming ‘Mary Queen of Scots’.
The 24-year-old actress – who plays the titular Queen of Scotland in the historical drama – was completely taken aback when she first saw her 28-year-old co-star transformed with a bright white face and red wig on set, because the pair had been deliberately kept apart before shooting their scenes together.
Appearing on the ‘BBC 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James’ together, Margot said: "We never saw each other in character until that moment when the cameras were rolling and Saoirse pulls down the last sheet between us."
Saoirse then added: "I was anxious and there was just so much adrenaline. We had been kept apart and we didn’t know what the other one looked like. Especially seeing Margot as Margot and then seeing her with an extremely white face and the nose and the whole thing it was so extreme. They shot our close-ups simultaneously and everything that we were doing was for the benefit of the film."
Margot had to spend hours in make-up each day to play 16th century English monarch Queen Elizabeth I as she had numerous prosthetics applied to her face to change her appearance and a wig to get the required red hair.
Although changing her appearance so drastically helped her to get into character more easily, the glued on prosthetics did make it hard for her to eat during her breaks from filming.
Margot said: "When you wear that many prosthetics it’s tricky to eat, so they were hungry days. It was quite a startling look!"
When asked if dressing in costume helped her play Queen Elizabeth I she said: "That’s the case for any character but this one had quite an extreme look and that always make it more helpful."
Saoirse Ronan shocked by Margot Robbie’s Queen of Scots transformation
