Robert Downey Jr. has proven time and again that his range as an actor is nothing short of extraordinary. Whether it is with roles that he is most known for or those that sometimes slip by without proper recognition, he gives his best no matter what. Latest in the lot was his role as Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, a role that also got his first and much-deserved Oscar.
The role got him the light he needed for fans to see his talent outside of playing Tony Stark. In the midst of this, there was shade thrown at the Marvel Cinematic Universe while acknowledging it at the same time. There was a lot he saw that the role would affect his future as an actor, including but not limited to his reputation.
So much so that he thought playing Lewis Strauss would free him of all the things he had been confined by ever since he started growing in the Hollywood industry.
Robert Downey Jr. Found Freedom in Oppenheimer
Speaking with Esquire, Robert Downey Jr. revealed what he truly felt about adorning the character of Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer. He is used to being tied by franchises or a series of films that ask the same thing out of him again and again. Christopher Nolan’s film was unlike any other.
“I knew that playing Strauss, in Oppenheimer, was going to be like picking fly shit out of pepper.”
The actor added a rather bizarre comparison, explaining that playing Straww brought him a sense of liberation. It was most definitely going to affect his reputation as an actor and whether or not that would be a good thing completely relied on the critics and audiences.
He gave his best for the role and got a rather positive outcome out of it as well. Downey saw himself stepping out of his comfort zone and he was all for it.
Freedom in Limitations
Robert Downey Jr. was met with both a sense of freedom and limitations he could not go over. A role as taxing as in Oppenheimer required a lot out of the actor that he was not used to. For someone who is always seen as a charismatic and energetic actor, Strauss required of him something even the audiences had yet to experience.
“That it was going to be extremely exacting, that it was going to be not confining, but liberating by its varied implicit limitations of what my usual toolbox is.”
The shadow of what he is used to playing is not a bad one. In fact, it gives him a sense of freedom in what he does as an actor. However, for Christopher Nolan’s film, the story was completely different. He had to find pieces of himself that were yet to be put on display.
The role did not give him the freedom to pick and choose whatever he wanted to do. That was far from an obstacle for Downey, rather, it was a challenge.
