If you’ve been checking the digital clock on your cell phone for the last few years, then Margot Robbie wants you to reevaluate that choice. The Australian actress-producer heads to the small screen in new ads celebrating Chanel’s iconic timepiece, the J12, which turned 20 last year. “My watch allows me to step away from technology and remain truly present in the moment,” shared Robbie via email. “The busier I am, the faster time seems to move. I have always made myself busy—at ten years old, at 20 years old—but now, at 30, I am trying to focus on busying myself with the things I truly want to spend time on. If it’s something I truly wanted to do, then it never feels like a minute wasted, just time well spent.”
At present, Robbie is managing her time around LuckyChap Entertainment, the production company she founded with husband Tom Ackerley and partners Josey McNamara and Sophia Kerr in 2014. The team has experienced a banner year with hits like the Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman and comic book blockbuster Birds of Prey. “In this industry, particularly as a producer, it feels like time is never on your side. But I have seen the most incredible things created under the pressure of not having enough time,” says Robbie. “It certainly pushes us to do things that we may not have had the courage to do if time were infinite.”
“If it’s something I truly wanted to do, then it never feels like a minute wasted, just time well spent.”
In her new role as the face of J12, she shares the spotlight with fellow Chanel ambassadors Ali McGraw, Carole Bouquet, Naomi Campbell, and Claudia Schiffer. “It feels incredibly special to be alongside such inspiring women in this campaign,” says Robbie. The fact that she was already a fan of the watch didn’t hurt either. “I feel like I can wear it anywhere,” explains Robbie whose own personal style is similarly understated and elegant.
After two decades working in the film industry, Robbie truly understands what it means to come into your own in Hollywood. “[20 years] means you have established yourself a career built on more than what you have to offer on the surface,” she says. “It means you have proven you have talent, good taste, good instincts, you work hard and have thick skin.” For some, stepping into a new decade comes with anxieties, but Robbie has no fears about getting older. “I often ask people what has been their favorite age to be in their life. The only people who ever say their 20’s are people who are still in their 20’s,” she says, referencing French philosopher Paul Nizan’s famous quote. “I think that infinite possibilities should be considered at any age. We should never stop dreaming big.”
