Although Margot Robbie trained extensively for the role, she was unable to perform a triple axel, nor could a skating double be found to do so, as very few women figure skaters can perform the jump. Producer Tom Ackerley stated, "There have been only six women since Tonya Harding who have done a triple Axel; even if there was one who was doing it today, she'd be training for the Olympics and couldn't risk doing it for the film." The jump was accomplished with the use of visual effects.
Note: whilst Ackerley did not give names, this skater may have likely been Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, who became the first female to land four triple jumps in a short program (triple Axel, triple Lutz, and a triple toe-triple toe combination) at the 2015 Worlds; ultimately, she was not picked for the 2018 Olympics. The other six to accomplish this in competition by the time of filming was Midori Ito (1988 NHK Trophy) and the first at the Olympics (1992); Ludmila Nelidina, the first European and Yukari Nakano at 2002 Skate America; Kimmie Meissner, the second American at the 2005 U.S. Championships; Mao Asada at the 2004-05 Junior Grand Prix Final, the second at the Olympics (2010 and 2014); Rika Kihira at the 2016 JGP Ljubljana, who also became the first to land a triple Axel combination (triple Axel-triple toe) in an ISU international event at the 2017-18 Junior Grand Prix Final. Before the release of the film, Mirai Nagasu achieved hers at the 2017 CS U.S. Classic and became the third and the first American to do so at the Olympics (in 2018).
Note: whilst Ackerley did not give names, this skater may have likely been Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, who became the first female to land four triple jumps in a short program (triple Axel, triple Lutz, and a triple toe-triple toe combination) at the 2015 Worlds; ultimately, she was not picked for the 2018 Olympics. The other six to accomplish this in competition by the time of filming was Midori Ito (1988 NHK Trophy) and the first at the Olympics (1992); Ludmila Nelidina, the first European and Yukari Nakano at 2002 Skate America; Kimmie Meissner, the second American at the 2005 U.S. Championships; Mao Asada at the 2004-05 Junior Grand Prix Final, the second at the Olympics (2010 and 2014); Rika Kihira at the 2016 JGP Ljubljana, who also became the first to land a triple Axel combination (triple Axel-triple toe) in an ISU international event at the 2017-18 Junior Grand Prix Final. Before the release of the film, Mirai Nagasu achieved hers at the 2017 CS U.S. Classic and became the third and the first American to do so at the Olympics (in 2018).
Allison Janney had seriously trained to become a figure skater throughout her childhood and adolescence. However, when she was 17, she accidentally walked into a sliding glass door and gravely injured her right leg. In 2014, during an interview on "Fresh Air," Janney told interviewer Terry Gross that her leg came close to being amputated. "I lost like three-quarters of my blood. I lost an artery and cut tendon....I was in the hospital for like seven--seven, eight weeks. I missed my first year of college. You know, and after that, of course, I didn't really--I didn't skate for a very long time."
The whole movie was shot in 30 days.
Steven Rogers never had experience interviewing a real-life subject before the film. He initially called Tonya Harding's agent to obtain the life rights to her story and got a Motel 6. When he finally tracked her down, he found her extremely forthcoming over a two-day interview. Harding did not feel like she had anything to lose at that point.