Margot Robbie was living on Froot Loops during Neighbours

She’s the talk of the town in Hollywood after receiving her first ever Oscar nomination this week for her role in I, Tonya.

But life wasn’t always easy for Margot Robbie, 27, who revealed the extent of her early career struggles on The Project Wednesday.

 After leaving home at age 17 to make her big acting debut on Australian soap Neighbours, cast mates were concerned to learn of her unfortunate diet.

 ‘I was 17 when I started on the job and I had just moved from the Gold Coast and  didn’t know anyone in Melbourne [where Neighbours is filmed]’ she explained.

‘Obviously I had never lived on my own before and everyone just pretty much took me under their wing.’

One of the downsides of leaving home at an early age to chase your dreams is preparedness, she revealed.

‘I was pretty much living on Froot Loops for breakfast, lunch and dinner,’ she said of her out-of-home diet.

Learning curve: ‘I was 17 when I started on the job and I had just moved from the Gold Coast and didn’t know anyone in Melbourne [where Australian soap Neighbours is filmed]’ she said

Turns out good Neighbours really did become good friends for Margot, with several cast mates refusing to let the future Golden Globe winner live off cereal.

 ‘Everyone was like ‘OK, you will come over to my house’ ‘ she said, Susan Kennedy [Jackie Woodburne] would invite me over once a week and cook me a roast.’

Margot also gave a shout-out to fan-favourite character Toadfish ‘Toadie’ Rebecchi, played by Ryan Moloney, for helping through her struggles.

Diet: ‘I was pretty much living on Froot Loops for breakfast, lunch and dinner,’  she said of her out-of-home diet

Mind blown! Turns out good Neighbours really did become good friends for Margot, with several cast mates refusing to let the future Golden Globe winner live off cereal

‘Toadie, or Ryan who plays Toadie helped me do my taxes!’ she told the panel.

The girl from Dalby, Queensland certainly has come a long way since then, learning this week she was up for Best Actress at the Academy Awards in March.

 Margot explained the moment she heard about her nomination for an Academy Award to Ten Eyewitness News on Tuesday night.

Roast! ‘Everyone was like ‘OK, you will come over to my house’ ‘ she said, Susan Kennedy [Jackie Woodburne] would invite me over once a week and cook me a roast’

She said she and her mother cried, as everyone around her erupted into cheers.

‘It was the best possible scenario to hear something like that,’ the actress gushed. 

 ‘They plugged the phone into the DJ decks and literally as they did, they announced my name and everyone just went ‘ahh,’ and started screaming.’ 

Tax man! Margot also gave a shout-out to fan-favourite character Toadfish ‘Toadie’ Rebecchi (pictured sitting on left) for teaching her how to do her taxes

Long way! The girl from Dalby, Queensland certainly has come a long way since then, learning this week she was up for Best Actress at the Academy Awards in March, for her role in I, Tonya