Christopher Nolan Felt Robert Downey Jr. Was Too Big a Movie Star To Work With Him Until ‘Oppenheimer’
Robert Downey Jr. certainly had an inspirational journey in Hollywood. He rose to fame quite early in his youth with movies such as Pound, Weird Science, Less Than Zero, Chaplin (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award), and many more.
His career seemed to be going on a fantastic trajectory before he was arrested for substance abuse and possession of heroin and cocaine. In a 2008 interview later on, it was found out that he went in and out of jail during that time of his life. He was also fired from his TV show, Ally McBeal, and did not turn his life around until 2003, when Susan Downey gave her an ultimatum.
Even then, his career did not pick up before Mel Gibson wrote an undertaking and took liability for Downey Jr. After Mel Gibson paid the insurance bond for the movie The Singing Detective, he went on to do many acclaimed films like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Zodiac, Tropic Thunder, etc. before he was cast as Iron Man in the MCU, and the rest is history. He became a gargantuan star overnight, and he had to never look back.
Recently, he appeared in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, where his phenomenal performance among a crowded cast that included three Oscar winners stole the hearts of the audience and critics alike. Many are predicting that he might be a contender for the Oscars for his role in Oppenheimer. However, fans would be surprised to know that Christopher Nolan thought Robert Downey Jr. was too big of a movie star to work with before this film.
“I wasn’t sure how he was going to adjust to that way of working:” Christopher Nolan found Robert Downey Jr too big of a movie star to work with until Oppenheimer
In a profile piece done by Vanity Fair on Robert Downey Jr., many people chimed in, including his wife Susan Downey and Christopher Nolan’s partner Emma Thomas, who is also the producing partner of Nolan. While talking to the magazine, Susan Downey opened up about the Oppenheimer casting process and said how she knew from Robert Downey Jr’s open mindset that he would be perfect for the role:
“When you’re doing a Chris Nolan thing, basically you get a phone call: ‘Chris wants you for this. Will you come read the script at his house?’ ” says Susan, who joked that her husband’s curiosity clashed with his, let’s say, more inert tendencies. “Robert’s like, ‘Wait, I have to drive that far east?… Okay.’ Once he was willing to do that, I already knew his mindset was very open.”
When Emma Thomas was talking to the media outlet about working with Robert Downey Jr she said how both her and Christopher Nolan always wanted to work with Downey Jr but they were not sure how a star of such big stature would fit into their filmmaking process:
“Honestly, he kind of subverted all my expectations of him,” Thomas says. “We’ve often talked about how amazing it’d be to work with him, but we work in a very specific, fairly stripped-down way. I wasn’t sure how he was going to adjust to that way of working because, when you’re a big movie star like Robert, that isn’t necessarily the way you’re used to working.”
Also Read: Robert Downey Jr. “Does Not Regret” His Controversial Past That Nearly Ended His Hollywood Career
However, the Oppenheimer cast and crew were all pleasantly surprised to find a man who was willing to cast off his armor for the sake of the movie and put on the suit of a simple man. In fact, one might say that his experience with the Avengers prepared him for his role in a movie with 79-speaking cast that includes names like Cillian Murphy, Aden Ehrenreich, and Tom Conti. He truly gave the performance of a lifetime.
Robert Downey Jr’s wife Susan Downey recounts when he offered advice to his Marvel co-stars at Chris Evans’ wedding
Robert Downey Jr is famous for fiercely looking out for the people he loves, a big part of which includes his Marvel co-stars. In the Vanity Fair interview, Susan Downey and Marvel President Kevin Feige could not stop gushing about this endearing quality of his. Susan Downey opened up and said:
“Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth were talking to Rober. I was like, ‘Oh right,’ he is the guy who is…I don’t want to say a mentor, but I just see him as the dude who knows a lot. He’s been through a lot of scenarios, both in life and in work, and has survived a lot.”
Marvel Studio president Kevin Feige could not agree more as he went on to echo Susan Downey’s emotions for Robert Downey Jr:
“We used to joke and say that Robert was the head of the acting department because everybody there looked up to him.”
According to Feige, Robert Downey Jr took his Marvel co-stars under his wings but not in a dominating manner. He wanted to be their biggest cheerleader.
Robert Downey Jr is set to appear in Park Chan Wook’s upcoming historical black comedy, The Sympathizer, in 2024.
