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Robert Downey, Jr. at the premiere of "Tropic Thunder" held at the Mann Village Theater in Westwood, Calif. on August 11, 2008.
| The DreamWorks Pictures film Tropic Thunder is an action comedy about a group of self-absorbed actors who set out to make the biggest war film ever. After ballooning costs and the out-of-control egos of the pampered cast threaten to shut down production, frustrated British director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) refuses to stop shooting, leading his unsuspecting cast deep into the jungles of
Southeast Asia for increased realism, where they inadvertently encounter real bad guys. With no assistants, entourages or cell phones, the actors are mistaken by a very dangerous band of drug lords, who believe they are American DEA agents that they are determined to capture.
With an ensemble cast led by superstars Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr., the film both pokes fun at and emulates how movies are made. As the overly committed Oscar-winning Australian actor Kirk Lazarus, who goes to the extreme measure of having his skin surgically dyed to realistically portray African American Sergeant Lincoln Osiris, Downey is at an all-time high in his career, with the huge success of this summer’s Iron Man. The highly respected actor, who will soon be taking on the role of Sherlock Holmes, for a film directed by Guy Ritchie, recently spoke with MediaBlvd Magazine about getting to play such interesting roles in his career.
MediaBlvd Magazine> What did you think of this film, when you first read the script?
Robert Downey Jr.> Like when someone says, “Hey, you want to come over for dinner?,” I thought, “I’d love to!” Then, it was like they said, “Great, and would you like me to soak you in lamp oil and light you on fire, right after dessert?,” and I thought, “I don’t want to come to dinner anymore.” I love Ben Stiller, so I read the script and thought that it was so funny. But then, the idea of actually playing the actor who’s playing a black guy, it’s more fun to read than it probably is a good idea of a thing to do in your career. If it goes well, maybe you can open up the L.A. Times and it says that “Robert Downey Jr. is flat out hilarious,” like it already has, and then you’re vilified for having made a decision to do something that people thought was offensive.
MediaBlvd> When did you finally make the choice to do this film, and how did you come to that decision?
Robert> Honestly, I don’t remember. I just know that I thought about it and I came to trust Ben. And, it’s also at DreamWorks. It’s not like we were just trying to do something low-brow. It’s not like the director had no fucking idea how to gage what an audience might want or what is appropriate. I knew that there were all these involved entities, so we’d do something good.
MediaBlvd> Did you do any research, or did you just step into the role and do it?
Robert> Kind of like now, with Sherlock Holmes, I’m prepping and I’m like, “Okay, they’re going to pay me to do this movie and I don’t have a fucking idea in my head! I hope I figure this out before we start shooting.” Now, I’m having fear and anxiety. But, for this character, I was like, “Okay, Ben, I’m going to do it! Woo!” Then, I sat there and thought, “Oh, God, this is terrible! I can’t do it!” And, I tried the voice on the phone, and Ben laughed, and my first thought was that he was just placating me, that it wasn’t really that cool and it didn’t mean anything. I thought he was just trying to help me feel comfortable and help me contain my anxiety. But, once I got the voice, and then we got the make-up and the look right, I started thinking about how he should move. It was so much more of an attitude thing, and who you’re playing off of.
MediaBlvd> How did you get into your character?
  Robert> The frequency of his voice started happening. I honestly felt like I put on the make-up and it was one of those transformative, dumb-ass, self-important actor moments. I let the character come out. I was having my own self-important actor realization, playing a self-important actor.
MediaBlvd> How did you decide what to do with your voice?
Robert> It was such a thing of faith and trust. I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew that I was going to be in special effects make-up. I was either going to be really sorry I did this movie, or relatively happy that I participated in it. It came to me through whatever process we all utilize when something creative happens, which I don’t understand at all. I’ve just come to be afraid that it won’t happen when I need it to. I’m very grateful when it happens. It makes me more afraid that, because it happened for Lazarus, God is going to slap me in the face, and it won’t happen the next time I need it to.
MediaBlvd> What did you think about the way you looked in the film?
Robert> I loved being a black man. This man was so beautiful. He’s deep, he talks from his spirit, and he knows he is surrounded by morons. He’s going to usher and show them the way. I thought that the whole idea was wildly controversial.
MediaBlvd> Did it take a lot of convincing to get Tobey Maguire to do the trailer at the beginning of the film with you?
Robert> I was amazed that he agreed to do it. It was a bit of a karmic pay-off, for he and I in Wonder Boys. It’s subtle. On the day, I thought, “He is so still, so funny, thinking such marvelously homosexual thoughts, and holding space.” He is literally a fucking fantastic actor! He didn’t do anything all day long. He came in and he was quiet, but he was so right in his lascivious gay acting. Suddenly, he was grabbing my prayer beads, and I was like “This is so awful!” Then, I thought, “Don’t think about that, just be more gay to him!” It was really funny.
MediaBlvd> You shot a lot of viral video footage for the mockumentary you shot for this film. What was some of that content?
Robert> We were night shooting and I went off in one of the hotel rooms by where the set was and the idea occurred to me that, what if Kirk Lazarus started taking the actual Lincoln Osiris’ psyche meds to get to know his mental state better. What happens is in the mockumentary. He moves in with the wife of the deceased guy that he’s playing, and she is now this 65-year-old Vietnamese woman. They have a torrid love affair and he’s trying to reconnect with the children they had who are like, “You’re not my dad! I actually liked you in that other movie, though.” So, he’s on the psyche meds and he’s freaking out. That could have been a whole other movie. It was good shit.
MediaBlvd> Does your son have any interest in acting? Would you encourage him to do it?
Robert> He’s done a little bit. I have encouraged him. He’s a natural. I recommend his whole demeanor to anyone. Instead of imagining that you need to go do something in your life, by example of what he sees in this town, that you have to be the center of attention, or you have to go make a bunch of money, or you have to have successes or failures, or some big arc that combines both, he said, “Why don’t you just cut all the garbage and figure out how to get to the happy?”
MediaBlvd> You’re proud of your son, aren’t you?
Robert> Yeah, he’s turned out to be pretty cool. Most fathers will say they are proud of their kid. It’s not cool to say you aren’t. That means you’re an idiot and you’re not a man at all.
MediaBlvd> You’ve had such a great year, with Iron Man and now this film. What are the chances of you working with writer/director Shane Black again?
Robert> I love Shane Black. We’ve talked about doing something else together. When we were doing Iron Man, we would go to him with ideas, every once in a while, like he was Obi Wan or Yoda. He’s like the Holy Grail.
MediaBlvd> Even though you’re now a superhero, don’t you think you probably freak some kids out?
Robert> Yeah, there are certain kids that are obsessed with me. I was on a rooftop and an industry friend of mine said, “My kid is literally playing with your doll right now.” I went over to say hi to the kid and he just froze, looking at me. I was like, “Oh, now I feel uncomfortable.” I just realized I don’t know how this works. He just wanted me to disappear when he saw me.
MediaBlvd> Is Iron Man 2 already in the works?
Robert> Yes, Iron Man 2 is in the works. I think it will be really surprising that, having taken all this goodwill and success, we’ve decided to do something even more risky, that represents the way that Jon Favreau thinks, and the way that I like to develop a character. It’s going to be good.
I’ve already conceived of my general physical appearance for it, but I’m trying not to tip my hand so much.
MediaBlvd> What are the goals of the next Iron Man?
Robert> Our goals are more of the same. He said he was Iron Man in Part 1, but it’s one thing to say it and another to actually evolve to the point where you can live in a heroic fashion. The superhero movie needs to always follow an arc. We want to do what worked for us last time, which was to show a guy who is put in an extraordinary circumstance. It’s about the people around him and how that creates a sense of family. It’s how that disrupts whatever forces we have to live with, growing up. You are able to touch on some subjects that are a lot more far-reaching while still being grounded in entertainment.
MediaBlvd> Are you training for it? Are you learning some martial arts for the film?
Robert> I’m always training. I’m training in martial arts, but we are putting together a team of people, so that we can do something a little more transcendent and interesting. I love the idea of martial arts and bare-knuckle boxing, before there were rules that came in the 19th century. Before all the rules, where it was all proper, it was really balls-to-the-wall, brutal stuff. Guy Ritchie is a martial artist and I’m a martial arts student, so they are putting a team of people together. You have all the Sherlock Holmes stuff, but hopefully we are going to have a real fun time doing all the other stuff, too.
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Co-stars Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black & Ben Stiller at the MTV Movie Awards held at Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif. on August 11, 2008. | MediaBlvd> Are you going to have any time between the next Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes?
Robert> No. It will be straight back-to-back. It’s hard to stay grounded in the best of times. You think, “Usually, things are unmanageable, but I still managed.” Then, there are times when it’s just like The Wizard of Oz and your house is spinning and you’re like, “Alright, well fuck it!” What are you going to do? So, when unmanageability goes to complete and total powerlessness over the momentum of the way that things are going, all you have, at least for me anyway, is “Am I cool right now? Am I being honest right now? Am I taking care of myself right now? Have I offended anyone? Do I need to make an apology to anyone? And, have I eaten before
noon?” That can affect all the other things.
MediaBlvd> What’s your start date for production on Sherlock Holmes?
Robert> October 6th.
MediaBlvd> And, where will you be filming that?
Robert>
London. And then, we’ll do some stage work in
New York. We’ll go to
England and do all the locations in the
UK, and then we’re going to do the stage work in
New York.
MediaBlvd> Is it a brand new script, or is it based on some of the books?
Robert> It is a brand new story. It’s interesting and it’s very bold. It’s not an origin story at all. Watson has been into this for some years and is already trying to get away from Holmes, as he did many times, during the genesis of their relationship. The cool thing about Sherlock Holmes is that he was actually a very skilled martial artist. It’s not just about his deduction and all that stuff, but it’s a very action packed version of that, which to me is really exciting.
MediaBlvd> Has Watson been cast yet?
Robert> No.
MediaBlvd> Can you enjoy all of this success, or do you feel like it’s just all downhill from here?
Robert> You can have a good day, regardless of what’s happening. There’s more pressure to have a good day when things are good because you’re supposed to feel a certain way and, if you don’t feel that way, does that mean that there’s something wrong with you? No. Whether you have a good day or a bad day is just the way that you feel. It usually doesn’t match up with your success.
MediaBlvd> Does all of your current success feel like a second coming for you?
Robert> No, it doesn’t. I’m not a particularly involved person. I don’t think in those terms. Maybe I don’t think in those terms for self-preservation. I am still relating to my own super-limited perception of what the arc of this last year has been.
 MediaBlvd> Are you ever going to do a musical?
Robert> Yes, I am.
MediaBlvd> Which one would you like to do?
Robert> I don’t know. I made a record, back in the day. I’ve got a lot on my plate right now, though. I’m feeling enough fucking pressure that I don’t want to have to bang out a musical, too.
MediaBlvd> But, you really want to do one, at some point?
Robert> I seriously do. In fact, that’s just about all I want to do, aside from the stuff that they’re paying me to do, that I still have to do, that I want to do.
MediaBlvd> Do you ever want to direct and step behind the camera?
Robert> Right now, I have this whole Marvel Universe, which I’m so blessed and excited to be a part of. Then, I have the possibility of another franchise, if we do our job correctly with Sherlock Holmes. So, I don’t want to be the person who has a double franchise, who is also directing and writing. But, yes, I want to do it, at some point. You can only be the guy in front of the camera who is viable, as a leading man, in his 40’s or early 50’s, for so long. I’ve got to get out of the game and switch my shit up, before people are going, “Wow, he’s the guy who’s not leaving the party.” |
