The 2017 film I, Tonya — based on the life of famous figure skater Tonya Harding and her involvement with the 1994 attack on Nancy Kerrigan — takes a mockumentary dark comedy approach to retell an event that captivated the headlines and imaginations of a pre-internet America. While it is flawed with a coat of Hollywood gloss like many biopics and makes a bit light of domestic violence, I, Tonya is still a well-made film that features exceptional acting, most notably Allison Janney’s Oscar-winning portrayal as Tonya Harding’s mother. Here are some facts about the movie!

 

1. Who directed I, Tonya?

Prolific commercial director Craig Gillespie — who has done a shitload of television advertising for bands like Porsche, Mountain Dew, Nintendo, GEICO, and tons others — directed I, Tonya, based on the screenplay by Steven Rogers. It is Craig Gillespie’s 6th feature film, after Mr. Woodcock (2007), Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Fright Night (2011), Million Dollar Arm (2014), and The Finest Hours (2016). Gillespie would go on to direct Cruella (2021).

 

2. What actors are in I, Tonya?

Margot Robbie stars in the title role of former figure skater Tonya Harding, with Mckenna Grace and Maizie Smith appearing as younger versions of Tonya. Allison Janney — who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for I, Tonya — plays Tonya’s violently berating mother LaVonda Golden. The film also features Sebastian Stan as Tonya’s abusive husband, Paul Walter Hauser as the bumbling inept “bodyguard” who arranges the hit on Nancy Kerrigan, and Bobby Cannavale as a tabloid reporter. Julianne Nicholson and Bojana Novakovic play skating coaches who were a part of Tonya Harding’s formulative training.

 

 

3. Was I, Tonya nominated for any Oscars?

Queen legend Allison Janney — a 30+ year veteran of dozens of films and television shows you’ve seen a hundred times — won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in I, Tonya, and she also won the Golden Globe. Margot Robbie was nominated for Best Actress and Tatiana S. Riegel secured a nomination for Best Film Editing.

 

4. Did critics and the box office like I, Tonya?

Yeah, it’s pretty well-liked. The budget for I, Tonya had a relatively modest sum of $11 million, and took in almost $54 million at the box office — making for a nice tidy profit. The Rotten Tomatoes folks have a 90% score, with an 88% audience score. Our friends at Metacritic say it’s “generally favorable,” with critic and user scores in the high 70s.

 

5. Did Margot Robbie do her own skating for I, Tonya?

Margot Robbie indeed do a lot of her own skating for I, Tonya. With help and choreography from coach and 2x Emmy winner Sarah Kawahara, as well as a pair of assists from skating doubles Heidi Munger and Anna Malkova, Margot trained four months for the role. However, Margot was unable to perform the incredibly difficult triple axel. Not only that, there were no skating doubles available to do so and Margot’s triple axel jump had to be accomplished with special effects. Literally only a few women in the entire world were even capable of completing a triple axel around that point in time: Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Midori Ito, Ludmila Nelidina, Yukari Nakano, Kimmie Meissner, Mao Asada, Rika Kihira, and Mirai Nagasu. According to producer Tom Ackerley, anyone who might be able to accomplish a triple axel would be training for the Olympics rather than risk injury as a stunt double. At one point, when Margot Robbie met Tonya Harding to discuss the role, Tonya offered to show a few pointers but alas, Margot did not have her skates with her.

 

 

6. Is I, Tonya based on a true story?

 

It sure is. I, Tonya is based on the life of figure skater Tonya Harding and her connection to the attack on fellow competitor Nancy Kerrigan before the 1994 United States Figure Skating Championships and the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. This was a huge big scandal in 1994, particularly in a pre-internet period of time when 24-hour news cycles were barely a thing. It dominated the headlines around the country for a good couple months while Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan became household names. This story is very much a part of the 1990s American zeitgeist.

 

7. Margot Robbie didn’t know it was a true story!

According to a conversation with the SAG-ATFRA Foundation, Margot Robbie totally did not know that I, Tonya was based on a true story until after she finished reading the script. If you remember what a huge deal this scandal was in 1994 and you’re thinking this sounds a bit off, keep in mind that Margot Robbie was merely 3 years old and living in Australia when all this shit went down.

 

8. What does Nancy Kerrigan think of I, Tonya?

Nancy Kerrigan has stated that she has no plans on seeing the movie. After all, she said, “I already lived through that.” More specifically in 2018, Nancy Kerrigan told the Boston Globe that the only “role” she had in the whole scandal was to recover from a vicious attack. Mentally, she seems to have done a pretty good job of doing that. Nancy has made appearances in the public eye in the years since here and there, perhaps mostly notably on Dancing with the Stars in 2017.

 

 

9. The director of I, Tonya once did a commercial with Nancy Kerrigan

Filmmaker Craig Gillespie, who also helmed Lars and the Real Girl and Cruella, cut his teeth directing commercials for advertising agencies in the 1990s. Gillespie has worked with dozens of big-name brands and has directed dozens of commercials seasoned couch potatoes will probably recognize, like 7-Eleven, Fruit of the Loom, Nike, Pepsi, Mercedes-Benz, Altoids, Snickers, and plenty of others. One of these was a 1993 Campbell Soup ad that starred none other than Nancy Kerrigan.

 

 

Do you want to read more fun facts about other fun movies? Check out our posts on The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Cool Hand Luke, Bringing Out the Dead, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Miami Vice, and The Pope of Greenwich Village! 

 

 

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