Alden Ehrenreich Was Perplexed by Robert Downey Jr.’s Humility After His Forgettable Experience With George Clooney
When Alden Ehrenreich worked with George Clooney early in his career, he found the A-list heartthrob surprisingly inaccessible. So when reuniting onscreen with Robert Downey Jr. for Oppenheimer, Ehrenreich braced himself for another brush with Hollywood ego. Instead, he was met with a new paradigm of celebrity humility that perplexed and inspired him.
What Was It Like Working with Robert Downey Jr.?
As per Vanity Fair, reuniting with a fellow blockbuster star in Oppenheimer, Ehrenreich expected his interactions with Robert Downey Jr. to be brief and superficial.
Instead, “We developed as much of a friendship as I’ve really ever developed with any actor I’ve ever worked with.”
Downey Jr. brought infectious energy to the set through his diligent preparation and commitment to the work. For Ehrenreich, it was a masterclass in the craft:
“I’ve come to sometimes expect from big names that they are not prepared, and it’s depressing.”
The experience reaffirmed Ehrenreich’s passion for meaningful on-screen connection. He hopes to continue acting while also pursuing directing ambitions;
“working with the likes of Nolan and [Fair Play director Chloe] Domont “is getting the greatest film school on the face of the planet.”
Staying true to his artistic spirit, Ehrenreich quotes an Orson Welles speech:
“Maybe my films would’ve been better, but they wouldn’t have been mine.”
After trials by fire, the rising talent seems to have found certitude in forging his own path.
How Did Alden Ehrenreich Handle the Pressure of Playing Such an Iconic Role?
“You just try to navigate, as we all do, caring too much about what other people think of you, and you try to listen to something that’s more important,” muses actor Alden Ehrenreich. “It’s very, very hard to do.”
After skyrocketing to fame as the young Han Solo in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, Ehrenreich has ridden the highs and lows of Hollywood, gaining wisdom about the fickle and “high school”-like nature of the industry. Now, with three major 2023 releases – Fair Play, Cocaine Bear, and Oppenheimer – putting him back in the spotlight, Ehrenreich remains grounded, focused on passion projects rather than prestige.
Stepping into Harrison Ford’s galaxy-famous shoes was no easy task, but Ehrenreich embraced the challenge.
“I loved the original spirit of how they wanted to make [Solo], and I did it because it was this great platform from which I could do my own thing,” he explains. However, when the film underperformed at the box office, Ehrenreich realized he “[hadn’t] built my own thing enough” yet to leverage its success.
Rather than chase stardom, Ehrenreich used the time to focus inward. Now, roles in smaller passion projects like Fair Play and Shadow Brother Sunday (which he also directed) have helped the actor reconnect with his craft.
“What I find exciting on screen to watch is when something real is happening between two people,” he notes.
Much as his searing chemistry with Phoebe Dynevor anchored the Netflix hit Fair Play.
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