SINGAPORE - She had her breakout role as Leonardo DiCaprio’s gold-digging wife Naomi in Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated film, The Wolf Of Wall Street. Now, Australian actress and current It girl, Margot Robbie, is va-va-vooming her way onto the screens once again, cosying it up with another A-lister, Will Smith, in the latest rom-com/heist movie, Focus. And yes, she is once again stealing the show. This time, she plays Jess Barrett, a small-time but street-smart, spirited pickpocket who teams up with veteran con artist Nicky (Smith) in order to learn the tricks of the trade.

The future also looks bright for the rising 24-year-old star: She will next be seen as Jane, alongside Alexander Skarsgard in Tarzan; and as the Joker’s partner Harley Quinn in the highly anticipated Suicide Squad. Here, she shares what it’s like working with the hilarious Will Smith and perfecting the art of pick-pocketing.

Q: Is it true that when you got the call to audition for Focus, you were out on a backpacking trip?

A: How it happened was kind of hilarious, actually. I’d had a meeting with (writer/directors) Glenn Ficarra and John Requa months previously and nothing else had come of it, so I didn’t think I was going to get the role. Then, all of a sudden, when I was on holiday, far removed from civilisation, I got the call asking: “How soon can you get to New York?” So, I was a bit panicked. I threw all my clothes in my suitcase, took a catamaran followed by a ferry, and then got on a bus to the local airport to get to France, and, finally, flew from France to New York. And when I got there, I found out my luggage had been lost. I literally had just the clothes I was wearing, and had only slept about six hours in a couple of days - but I was going to that audition!

I bought a shirt on the way, walked in and said, “Okay, guys, I’m here.” And I put the disclaimer out there: “It’s a long story, but just know that I can look a lot better.” Anyway, we did the audition and the next day they called up and said, “You’ve got it.” So, getting the role was an adventure in itself. It was amazing.

Q: What was it like working with Will Smith?

A: It was amazing. We got along so well and had so much fun. John and Glenn wrote the script, but they’re not precious with their material and were really open to letting us improvise with what they’d written. I love working that way. It keeps it fresh and sometimes you just get a golden moment, which you may not have gotten if you didn’t experiment.

It was a really fun environment. But there are so many comedic scenes in the film, and Will is so funny that sometimes it was hard to keep a straight face. Towards the end of the film, the characters have to face some harsh realities, but interspersed are these hilarious moments that are genuinely funny. There are these dramatic tonal shifts that are incredibly challenging for an actor, but I loved those moments. It was a great experience.

Q: What was it like for you to learn about this underworld of con artists and pickpockets?

A: When I first read the script, I did a bit of research, and (sleight-of-hand artiste) Apollo Robbins was the first name I came across. I found out that he was actually on board as a consultant on this film. I got to do hours and hours of training with Apollo Robbins, which was a really cool experience and really fun. Apollo takes it beyond the physical mechanics and into the psychological — how you can work around what the brain can pick up on (in order) to steal from people without detection. It’s incredibly fascinating stuff when you get into the dynamics of it all - and is kind of a fun party trick to have up your sleeve. (Laughs)

Q: What is it like working with the luscious Rodrigo Santoro?

A: Before we got to Argentina, most of my scenes were with Will and the actors who play his crew. Rodrigo’s character, Garriga, is a rich and powerful race car owner who comes in later in the film. And what is funny is that Garriga seems very cold, but Rodrigo is lovely. He’s just so sweet and, of course, I’m sure I’m the envy of women everywhere for getting to work with him! (Laughs)

Q: Was it fun to shoot the sequences of Jess and Nicky’s crew working the big sports event in New Orleans?

A: That was very fun but also eye-opening. We were actually filming pickpocket scenes in places where we’d see signs saying, “beware of pickpockets”. I had already done all my pickpocket training, so the first time I went to Bourbon Street, I’d be going up to people and saying, “Excuse me, sir, you need to put your wallet in a different pocket.” I couldn’t even help myself! (Laughs) Once you’ve seen with your own eyes how it’s done, you can’t believe how easy we make it for people to steal from us, so in that way, this experience was great for me too.

Transcript courtesy of Warner Bros. Focus is in cinemas now.