Robert Downey Jr. was 100% concerned about playing Iron Man. During a recent interview for his work in Oppenheimer, he claimed that MCU had “atrophied” his acting skills. Downey Jr. delivered the statement sarcastically, but it seems somewhat accurate.
Downey Jr. debuted as “Iron Man” in 2008 and bid farewell to the character in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.” He appeared in a total of nine Marvel movies so far.
About spending the good 11 years playing one of the lead members of the Avengers — Iron Man, he told The New York Times Magazine, “You start to wonder if a muscle you have hasn’t atrophied.”
Christopher Nolan Capitalized on Rober Downey Jr.’s Acting Better Than MCU
When asked if Nolan capitalized on his acting, Downey Jr. explained that Nolan stretched the acting muscles that he hadn’t used in over a decade till now.
“Yes. 100%,” Downey explained “And I knew there was a point where Christopher Nolan was endorsing, let’s work those other muscles, but let’s do it while rendering you devoid of your usual go-to things.”
Even though Downey Jr. has earned over $360 million (estimated) for all his Marvel appearances, by no means he is trying to diss Marvel. It is understandable that playing the same type of character for 11 years straight is tiring. That’s why Downey Jr. explained how nice it was to leave the world of blockbusters and enter a more “pure” form of storytelling with Oppenheimer and Christopher Nolan.
“Coming from that other place, entering the box office weekend-dominating place, then going into this spot now where I’m happy that I’m in this quality product — I’m happy that I regained my connection with a more purist approach to making movies.”
Is Robert Downey Jr. Taking a Step Away From Blockbusters?
Currently, Downey Jr. is starring as Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb epic, “Oppenheimer,“ which allowed him to showcase his acting skills that he couldn’t explore in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You’ll definitely witness a different side of this exceptional actor in the movie.
In the film, Downey Jr. plays the role of Lewis Strauss, the former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and the chief antagonist of J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy).
The Oppenheimer director wanted the actor to step away from his “usual go-to things,” which Downey Jr. described as “fast-talking, charming, unpredictable, blah, blah, blah,” which is the kind of opposite of what Iron Man is.
According to the description given by Robert Downey Jr., it seems as though the MCU star will be taking a break from blockbusters to focus on a much more nuanced project like Oppenheimer.
Source: The New York Times
