Robert Downey Jr Claims Not Winning Oscar For Chaplin Was a Blessing in Disguise
Robert Downey Jr. started as an actor early on in his life. Having made his acting debut in his father Robert Downey Sr.’s movie Pound, he went on to star in teen films like Weird Science and Less Than Zero. The latter of these earned him roles in bigger films.
One of these was the movie Chaplin. His performance in the movie earned him his first Academy Award nomination. Now, decades later, he is claiming that he was lucky that he didn’t win it. Intriguing, isn’t it? Thankfully, he also has the apt reasons to quench our curiosity.
Robert Downey Jr. Is Grateful He Didn’t Win The Academy Award for Chaplin
Robert Downey Jr. might have made history if he had won the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing the role of the famous comic actor Charlie Chaplin in the biographical comedy-drama Chaplin. He lost the award to Al Pacino for his role in Scent of a Woman.
During a recent interview with The View, this incident was brought up and Downey unabashedly admitted that winning the award would have been the worst thing for his career. He said:
“I was young and crazy. It would have put me under the impression that I was on the right track.”
Fast forward to now, Robert Downey Jr. has won his third Academy Award nomination for his role as Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s biographical thriller film Oppenheimer.
Read More: Robert Downey Jr Has One Regret From Playing Iron Man in First Avengers Movie
The movie, based on theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer’s contribution to the making of the atomic bomb, has received 13 nominations each for the Oscars and BAFTAs, becoming the most nominated film of the year. Not to mention that it is also the third highest-grossing film of last year with a whopping collection of $955 million.
Marvel Wasn’t Sure About Hiring Robert Downey Jr.
The Dolittle star is one of the most highly-paid and sought-after actors in Hollywood right now. The movies he has starred in as the lead actor have earned $14 billion at the box office making him one of the highest-grossing actors in the industry.
It goes without saying that he is also one of the most beloved Marvel Cinematic Universe stars, and his role as Iron Man enabled him to be this successful. However, there was a time when the board of Marvel Studios was not very confident about hiring the actor due to his history of substance abuse and legal troubles.
David Maisel, former President of Marvel Studios, however, saw what millions of people will admit in a breath today: Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man. Maisel was so impressed with the future superstar’s audition that he refused to give in. In an interview with The New Yorker, Maisel said:
“My board thought I was crazy to put the future of the company in the hands of an addict. I helped them understand how great he was for the role. We all had confidence that he was clean and would stay clean.”
Jon Favreau, the director of 2008’s Iron Man, also fought tooth and nail to have Downey in the movie. Even Kevin Feige, current President of Marvel Studios, has admitted that this casting was probably one of the most historic decisions of Hollywood.
