Margot Robbie explains where she got her surprising childhood nickname 'maggot' from

Margot Robbie has revealed how she got her bizarre childhood nickname 'Maggot'.

The actor made an appearance on The Project to promote her new movie Babylon.

Watch below:

The film set in 1920s Los Angeles is led by the star-studded cast of Brad Pitt, Tobey Maguire and Diego Calva.

Following 'the tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess', Babylon traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.

Robbie appeared on Tuesday night's episode of The Project, and was asked about the surprising nickname shouted to her at the premiere on Monday night (16 January).

The panel referenced a viral TikTok which was shared after Babylon's premiere in Sydney.

While speaking to entertainment reporter Justin Hill, one of her friends yelled out: "Hey, maggot!"

"I saw my school friends. We have been friends since we were four years old," she told Justin.

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"I think a substitute teacher made a mistake on the roll call and said 'maggot' and everyone laughed," the actor later explained to the panel.

"[Maggot] has been my nickname since I was six years old."

She said she'd hoped that the mistake would have been forgotten about come lunchtime, but clearly it stuck.

But, you can always count on your friends to never let something embarrassing go.

"You can't pick a nickname. You get given to it," The Wolf of Wall Street star added.

Margot, who has been delving into her past as of late, also revealed on The Graham Norton show that she was used to be 'very emo' as a teenager.

She said: "I would listen to only heavy metal music, and I would dye my hair black and only cut it with a razor blade. So yeah, kinda goth."

Fellow guest Cate Blanchett asked: "Does anyone like heavy metal? Was that something you genuinely liked?"

To which Robbie replied: "I genuinely did, and still do genuinely like it.

"I remember going to this Slipknot concert when I was on Neighbours, I have never had more people come up to me than at a Slipknot concert."

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And it seems that the movie allowed Robbie to tick something off her bucket list after also revealing that she shared an unscripted kiss with Pitt on the set of Babylon.

Speaking to E! News, the 32-year-old said: "That wasn't in the script, but I thought, 'When else am I gonna get the chance to kiss Brad Pitt? I'm just gonna go for it.'"

Explaining how she convinced director Damien Chazelle to incorporate the kiss into the movie, the actor explained: "I said, 'Damien, I think Nellie would just go up and kiss Jack.'

"And Damien was like, 'Well, she could—wait, hold on. You just wanna kiss Brad Pitt.'

"And I was like, 'Oh, so sue me. This opportunity might never come up again.' And he was like, 'It does work for the character,' and I was like, 'I think so.'"

They shot the scene, which Robbie said 'was just great', but she ended up getting more than she bargained for, as Chazelle realised the moment would most definitely be making the cut.

"He was like, 'No, do it again. That really works,'" Margot joked. "I was like, 'Oh, great.'"