Robert Downey Jr. hailed Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer as the best film he has ever been part of. Nolan recognized the potential of Downey Jr. and cast him as American politician Lewis Strauss in the film. The Tenet director called Downey Jr. one of the greatest actors of our time but shared that fans didn’t recognize his full acting potential in his role as Tony Stark / Iron Man in the MCU.
The Oppenheimer role has already won the Iron Man actor a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has also received a nomination at the 96th Academy Awards, his third overall Oscar nod after nominations for Chaplin and Tropic Thunder.
Christopher Nolan Highlights Robert Downey Jr.’s Acting Skills That Marvel Fans Often Overlook
Robert Downey Jr. played Lewis Strauss, which the actor himself called a “counterintuitive” role. Nolan crafted a detailed adaptation of the character from the book, American Prometheus. The character was an antagonist to Cillian Murphy‘s Oppenheimer, resenting him and later attempting to eliminate him using an orchestrated security hearing.
In an interview with LA Times, Christopher Nolan opened up on why he chose to cast Downey Jr. in the role. Notably, the Dolittle actor’s role was completely different from what he was used to playing in the MCU. Nolan revealed that he wanted to remind the Marvel fans of how great an actor he is. The Interstellar director highlighted Downey Jr.’s subtlety and brilliance in acting, which were often overlooked in his role as Iron Man.
Christopher Nolan decided to cast the actor in a role where he could just “lose himself in another human being”. The director rightly noted that the last time Downey Jr. was seen in such a role was his 1992 Oscar-nominated role as Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin. Nolan also added that Downey Jr.’s incredible energy, seen predominantly in his Iron Man role, made it difficult for the right role to come by. Nolan shared with the LA Times:
“He’s one of our great actors, and though a generation of kids know what a great movie star he is, they’ve not seen his subtlety and brilliance. I wanted to get him to do something completely different, to lose himself in another human being. When was the last time we’ve seen that? ‘Chaplin’? Directors are very aware of how talented Downey is, but because of his incredible energy that can punch through the screen, finding the right thing for him is difficult.”
When Downey Jr. appeared in The Hollywood Reporter Actor’s Roundtable, the host asked him about this comment made by Nolan. The Sherlock Holmes actor jokingly replied that he didn’t write that out for Nolan. He further shared that all he did was accept an invite from Nolan and read the Oppenheimer script, which was interestingly written on red paper with black ink. Downey Jr. immediately felt that the script was “masterful” and took on the role.
Robert Downey Jr. Also Revealed That His Marvel Role Went A Bit Unnoticed
While appearing on Rob Lowe‘s Literally! podcast, Robert Downey Jr. revealed that he did some of his career’s best work in the MCU as Iron Man. However, he revealed that most of that work went a little bit unnoticed due to the superhero genre. The genre has received a lot of opposition from reputable filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, who refused to recognize the genre’s films as real cinema. Downey Jr. revealed on Literally!:
“I felt so exposed after being in the cocoon of Marvel where I think I did some of the best work I will ever do, but it went a little bit unnoticed because of the genre.”
However, he admitted that the Marvel roles gave him a false sense of confidence and security as an actor. He added that when he exited the universe, “the rug was pulled so definitively out from underneath [him]”. He shared that the Oppenheimer role rendered him teachable. In another interview with the W Magazine, Downey Jr. revealed that his role as Lewis Strauss required a “kind of containment and being still” which he never had to do in other roles like Iron Man.
Robert Downey Jr.’s performance in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer can be now enjoyed by renting the movie on AppleTV+.
