Robert Downey Jr’s recent Oscar has become that final piece in the puzzle of his career. All these years, the actor lead some of the most successful films of all time, getting integrated into the very fabric of Hollywood, yet he was not shown respect by The Academy. Now, however, after working with Christopher Nolan in Oppenheimer, he is finally getting the acclaim that he deserves.
It would seem, however, that the Oscars not favouring Downey is not something new. In 1993, the actor lost an award to Al Pacino. One would imagine this would have left him spiteful, however that actor thought the win to be deserving.
There was someone else, however, who got really angry at the winner; Downey’s father, Robert Downey Sr.
Robert Downey Jr Thinks Al Pacino’s Win Was Rightful
Having recently won an Oscar in the category of Best Supporting Actor, it would seem that the topic of the Academy Awards is all that many can ask Robert Downey Jr about. Recently, he gave an interview with People magazine, where he talked about the his first Oscar nomination. In 1993, the actor was nominated for the Best Actor award for his work in as the titular character in Chaplin.
The same year, Al Pacino was nominated in the category for his work in Scent of a Woman. The movie helped him win his first and only Academy Award. Unfortunately, this was at the expense of Downey.
“It’s crazy that Al Pacino, one of my favorite human beings on earth, presented Best Picture,” Downey told. “And it’s also crazy that, I think, deservedly he won the first time I was nominated [in 1993 for Chaplin], for Scent of a Woman,”
Now, many years later, the actor has finally spoke on this. He started by talking about how ironic to was that Pacino was the one who presented Oppenheimer’s cast with the award for Best Picture. He then revealed his thoughts on losing the awards to the actor and it would seem that Downey has no hard feelings.
He believes that Pacino deserved this win and even though it was the first time he had ever been nominated.
Robert Downey Sr Disagreed
While Robert Downey Jr holds no grudges against Al Pacino for winning the Oscar, the same cannot be said about his father. The actor revealed that till his very last breath, Robert Downey Sr believed that his son deserved the award for Best Actor after the performance that he gave in Chaplin.
“Senior went to his grave going, ‘[You] got robbed for Chaplin.’ He wouldn’t say he really thought any of my other movies were very good or even that he thought Chaplin was any good, but he did know that I got robbed,”
Downey added that this was extremely out of character for his father. It would seem that there was something very different about that 1992 movie.
“I think that he would feel that justice was done and that he can rest. But the problem is, he never cared about any of this s— anyway.”
The actor also added that if his father were still alive, he would believe that his Oscar win now makes things fair. He cannot say this positively, however, as he does not think his father cared much about the vanity that comes with such accolades.
