Margot Robbie walked the “I, Tonya” red carpet with the real Tonya Harding

Margot Robbie and the entire cast of I, Tonya have been receiving rave reviews for the biopic about disgraced skating champion Tonya Harding. The film stars Margot Robbie as Harding, Allison Janney as the skater’s mom, and Sebastian Stan as Harding’s ex-husband.

Last night at the Los Angeles premiere for the film, Entertainment Tonight reports that Robbie had already walked down the red carpet with her husband Tom Ackerley when Robbie saw the actual Tonya Harding and rushed back onto the red carpet to pose with her.

It was widely believed that in 1994 Harding conspired with her ex-husband and bodyguard to break the knees of her competitor, Nancy Kerrigan, though she was only prosecuted for hindering the investigation and never served any jail time. Despite her blemished past, the film takes a sympathetic look at Harding’s troubled life, and when she stepped onto that red carpet — Robbie and the cast were overjoyed to see the real-life woman at the center of their film.

“Wow, this is incredible” Janney revealed to People when she saw Harding at the premiere.

“I don’t know if I should even say ‘Hi’ to her, I mean, I play Jeff!” Stan joked about playing Harding’s ex husband. “I’m totally star struck right now.”

"Everyone has a recollection of what they think happened, and it's kind of fun and interesting to show a different side of that story and maybe a side to Tonya that people weren't expecting to see," Robbie told ET last month at the New York City premiere.

I, Tonya opens in theaters on December 8th.