Since cinema is more than a hundred years old today, there naturally have been changes in the trends and culture as well as the lives of films and film stars in the industry, the most revolutionary in modern times being none other than Robert Downey Jr. with his successful run of the MCU.
But even before his fame and popularity soared in the stratosphere with Marvel Studios, the star wasn’t afraid of taking big risks in hopes of huge returns on them.
One of the most iconic roles of his life also happened to be a high-risk one, where the star went blackface for his 2008 comedy film Tropic Thunder. While this decision was indeed controversial, actor Billy Dee Williams feels like anyone should be able to express their creative ideas on screen, referring to another star who wore blackface in the past.
Billy Dee Williams Has No Problems With Actors Doing Blackface In Films
Times have changed, and the definitions of what’s acceptable in films and what’s not have also gone through the same alterations. While there still are many highly controversial things in practice, Billy Dee Williams believes that actors going blackface shouldn’t be considered one of them.
In a recent episode of Club Random Podcast with Bill Maher, The Empire Strikes Back star talked about the time he watched legendary actor Laurence Olivier in his 1965 drama film Othello, where the star, naturally being a White actor, played the role of a Black man with blackface. While it was still acceptable back in the day, it wouldn’t widely be the case if someone decided to do this today.
However, according to Williams, any actor who has a creative idea to express and is willing to tastefully do it with blackface should have all the power to do so. Giving Olivier’s example. he said:
“When he did Othello, I fell out laughing. He stuck his a*s out and walked around with his a*s, you know, because Black people are supposed to have big a*ses. I thought it was hysterical. I loved it, I love that kind of stuff. Why not? You should do it, if you’re an actor, you should do anything you want to do.”
By extension, it seems like Williams may have also enjoyed Academy Award winner Robert Downey Jr’s blackface performance in his 2008 comedy film Tropic Thunder.
How Robert Downey Jr. Gave An Exceptional Performance In Tropic Thunder
Along with the release of the 2008 Iron Man that would lead to the creation of the MCU, RDJ also starred in Tropic Thunder. This Ben Stiller comedy film would go down in history as one of his career’s most iconic and controversial movies.
But when you set all the controversial aspects of his blackface portrayal aside, the star gave us some of the most memorable and meme-able moments in cinema history, which naturally became immortal on the internet. Apart from that, this decision also gave the film a base to build upon the comedy genre that the film was being made for, only enhanced by the classic RDJ sense of humor and exceptional performance.
Tropic Thunder, streaming on Peacock.
