“I really took that to heart”: Robert Downey Jr. Admits ‘Oppenheimer’ Screen Tests Were Tricky After Christopher Nolan Challenged His $300 Million Career
Robert Downey Jr. is undoubtedly one of the best actors in the Hollywood entertainment industry. He followed in the footsteps of his father and began acting at the age of five. He was awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for playing the titular character in the movie Chaplin.
Downey had a phase of drug abuse that he overcame rather quickly and came back to charm the world with his acting prowess once again. He gained worldwide recognition for playing Tony Stark aka Iron Man in the MCU. This role made him one of the highest-paid Hollywood actors.
Robert Downey Jr. Has Done Incredible Work
Robert Downey Jr. had a hard time coming back to the big screen as completion bond companies refused to insure him after his addiction stint. It was his close friend and Air America co-star Mel Gibson who paid his insurance bond in 2003 for the movie The Singing Detective. This movie gave Downey the start he needed.
Downey starred as the lead or supporting actor in many movies before he landed his role in Jon Favreau’s Iron Man. Favreau said: “Downey wasn’t the most obvious choice, but he understood what makes the character tick. He found a lot of his own life experience in ‘Tony Stark’.” His reasoning was that the Tropic Thunder actor would be to Iron Man what Johnny Depp is to Pirates of the Carribean.
Robert Downey Jr. has built a shining career solely based on his great acting prowess. From Iron Man for which he had to put on 20 pounds of muscle in just five months to Tropic Thunder for which he was cast as a self-absorbed Australian actor’s role, Downey has proved time and time again that he is one of the best actors of all time.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Oppenheimer Screen Tests Were Challenging
Screen tests as Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s biopic Oppenheimer made Downey doubt his acting career worth $300 million. In a recent interview where he discussed his acting career, he said that the fact that Nolan wanted him to act as someone “who’s extremely subtle and plotting, who doesn’t have any punchlines, who’s only charming when he’s trying to manipulate or undermine” was very challenging to him.
About Nolan likening playing the role to Amadeus, Downey said: “And so I really took that to heart as his kind of challenging the entirety of my career trajectory and saying, “Don’t use any of those things that have served you well, find new resources.”
So far, the Less Than Zero actor’s portrayal of Lewis Strauss has not only been praised by award-winning director Christopher Nolan himself but also by netizens who have already watched the movie. Robert Downey Jr. seems to have charmed the audience with his unbeatable performance once again.
Source: Vanity Fair
