It was clear from her portrayal of DC villain Harley Quinn in last summer's "Suicide Squad" that Margot Robbie has a knack for completely transforming herself on the big screen. And that's especially true of Robbie's latest role, of real-life disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding, as glimpsed in some set photos from the upcoming biopic "I, Tonya."

In the pictures, captured by TMZ photographers, Robbie is nearly unrecognizable as Harding, her blonde locks permed and teased (check out the volume on those bangs!), and her svelte figure concealed in what looks like a padded suit and some seriously high-waisted mom jeans. She could easily pass for Harding in her early '90s heyday, when the spunky skater favored a similar look.

Pairing Robbie's willingness to throw vanity out the door in an effort to nail Harding's style with her determination to learn some figure skating moves for herself, we're impressed with the actress's dedication to the role. This truly seems like a passion project for Robbie (the actress was reportedly instrumental in getting the film greenlit, and led the search for its director herself), and it's exciting to see the level of detail that's being put into such a sensational story, when it could easily have devolved into trashy, made-for-TV territory.

For the uninitiated, "I, Tonya" will tell the tale of Harding's fall from grace after her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, attacked fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan ahead of the 1994 Olympics. Harding, a superstar in the sport, was accused of helping Gillooly plot the attack against her rising rival (she has maintained that she did not know about the plan until after it was carried out), and was subsequently stripped of her U.S. Figure Skating titles and banned from the sport for life. The movie will reportedly take a more sympathetic view of Harding, who grew up poor and was pitted against Kerrigan, a more conventional beauty who hailed from a wealthy family.

There's no release date yet for "I, Tonya," but it can't come soon enough.

[via: TMZ, h/t Huffington Post]