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8/14/2019 LUCID Magazine April 2008 (LA)
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[losan
geles2008previe
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L o s A n g e l e s
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[ master of the house ]
by Fred TopelPhotos by Zade RosenthalCourtesy of Paramount Pictures
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there are ew actors as charismatic in
their sel-destructive ways as Robert
Downey Jr. His trademark wound-up,
dicey, real and raw personality has
made him a most beloved Hollywood
lead man today, despite his ongoing
drug-addiction battles. Five yearsago, Downey was the go-to punch line in any
late-night joke about celebrity rehab. There was
a point when the actor couldnt even get insured
or major lm productions. But to everyones
great relie, these days hes shaking things up on
solid ground.
Currently, the clean and insured 43-year-old is
still proving his incomparable talents on movie
sets as the star o this months Iron Man. Downey
is an unusual casting choice or Tony Stark the
billionaire weapons magnate who becomes Iron
Man and stays alive with a chest plate that keepshis heart beating. Marvel launches the eature
lm with plenty o pyrotechnics to please the
eye, as well as a fying metal hero that can blast
any villain. The production harkens back to the
days o actors honing their crats, and studios, in
this case Marvel Productions, in charge o their
own work.
I remember the original Superman and Brando
was in it, Downey says. I thought, wow, these
things must be getting legit!I was already, I guess,
airly opinionated when I was seven.
Acclaimed or his work in prestige lms like
Chaplin and intense character dramas like Less
Than Zero, Downey proves that quirky, high-
caliber actors make comic book lms stand out.
All my riends are doing it, jokes Downey. With
my buddies, when you want to do stu, they say,
Youre doing what, man? Shaggy Dog? No ones
given me any gu about Iron Man.
The actor grabbed hold o his character with his
typical gusto and sharpened Tony Stark with hisDowney edge. Near the end o an exhausting
day on the set o Iron Man, director Jon Favreau
needed Downey to walk through the Stark home
and check his messages. Even in a brie shot to
simply orward the plot, Downey had new lines
he wanted to try; dierent reactions to various
well-wishers leaving voicemails. This was the
way it went throughout the entire production.
I come in every day and say, Ive seen this in a
movie beore. No oense, but i we do [it this
way], I havent seen that, explains Downey.Some o my [ideas] are so ar out they go, Will
you just go put on your chest piece? I eel the
onus and the responsibility to not venture into
this genre without an understanding that just
because it happens to have this two-dimensional
aspect to it in its origins, doesnt mean that it
doesnt go deep and it shouldnt be an art orm. I
think audiences are continually underestimated.
At the same time, I can go see a pretty crappy
movie and love it, i its got a couple o things
that work. Im like a soccer coach with kids that
probably shouldnt be playing soccer.
Back on the set, Favreau looked tired as he
entered to discuss the scene with Downey. The
Stark mansion was paved with brown marble
that squeaked as Downey walked across it. The
marble was actually just rubber, hence the
squeaking. Later, Favreau said he appreciates the
collaboration, as he called it.
I think theres something incredible to be
discovered in the moment, especially when
you have actors like Robert who understand it
and have been around and see themselves as
shepherds o their roles, said Favreau. He knows
more about their character than the lmmaker
does, because thats the kind o actor I hired.
The two would oten have discussions that
continued late into the night, or theyd show up
early on the set and lock themselves in the trailer
to talk about their ideas or the lm.
In casting Robert, you have a much dierent
version o this movie than you would i you
have somebody else younger, less unny, less
spontaneous, less charismatic, says Favreau.
With him as Tony Stark, we knew we could
hit the humor hard. We knew we could test
the boundaries o likeability because hes
so charming that you could really get to the
personality Tony Stark has in the books.
Some o Downeys ideas actually requireda complete re-haul o the set. In one scene,
Stark gives a press conerence to a room ull o
reporters. Downey wanted the reporters to sit
down, when lights were set up or everyone at
standing height.
Im not coming in going, This is all wrong!
Relight! explains Downey. But I will come in and
say, Given the time we have, we can probably
get this many shots. Jons been very fexible and
very un.
Changing a lm set seems like a relativelywholesome instinct or someone with more
unruly habits, such as violating probations and
requently regressing into drug addiction. Even
during his younger, more careless days, Downey
was able to channel his wild energies into artistic
pursuits.
I remember the days oLess than Zero or Chaplin
where I would throw mysel into this tizzy o
prep or 16 hours, Downey recalls. The same
makeup gal doing this did Less Than Zero, and
she was blowing menthol in my eyes, puttinglatex on my lips I was doing push-ups beore
the scenes and my heart was racing orever.
Real lie or Downey has been the stu o past
Hollywood movies: An emerging talent in the
80s, quickly swept up in the ast liestyle o drugs,
building credibility only to relapse several times.
Back in 2003, he actually thought hed given his
last interview on rehab. His team o publicists
said that rom then on, he could just claim hes
already covered it. Five years later, now acting
the part o a comic book character who has
turned to the bottle, he taunts me when I try tosugarcoat the question hes learned to expect.
Im like a soccer coach withkids that probably shouldnt beplaying soccer.
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[ master of the house ] continued article
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[ master of the house]
Just bring it, dude.
Okay, Robert, since youve been through addiction problems,
could you relate more to Tony Stark?
I think when someone has had a undamental change and
theyre not just trying to backpedal; by the time youve seen
the light; by the time you get out o Dodge and start doing the
right thing, you really dont relate to the person that h istorically
people still say [you are], Downey says.
Its always kind o an inside game, and I orget that occasionally,
but they keep writing the shit, Downey continues. Its that
thing, like lie is 85% maintenance, and you realize at
the end o your day that you spent most o the day just
making sure that other peoples energy and all your own
mindtalk wasnt ruining it. Like the day plans to be good,
and then you come in like CRASH CRASH CRASH trying to
VROOM VROOM VROOM.
Interviewing Downey is always un because hell go o on
tangents more interesting than the original question anyway.
This topic somehow veers o to people with worse reputations
than Downey.
Its like the guy who says, I you Google me, all youre ever
going to see is that I was accused o raping those two kids on
a boat, or whatever, he says. Its like, why am I Googling you
anyway?Thats a really nice headspace.
Wait a minute. This isnt an attempt to evade the real question,
is it?
No, Downey eventually gets to the real story.
Well, they say the bigger the setback, the bigger the comeback.
I wouldnt necessarily recommend that people take that to
heart, Downey says. Its kind o one o those agnostic journeys.
I dont want to be a Joseph Campbell chapter, but most
everyones lie is one mythology or another. I guess thats why
its there, to let you know those stories mean something. I took
some hits mostly in my own making, but everyone transorms.
Some o its just a unction o age. Im not in my twenties. Im
not in my thirties.
Even during the dark times, Downey still cared about his crat.
It just took some growing up to teach him that he couldnt have
it both ways. He couldnt be an Oscar-nominated actor andget
arrested or possession o narcotics.
It never occurred to me, particularly ater I did Chaplin, that
there was this 18-month window where I wasnt supposed to
smoke bowls and watch the History Channel, Downey says. I
was supposed to plan the next big thing. I guess it was that
thing, too, o the narcissism o wanting to act like it wasnt that
important to me and I didnt care, and also having the tendency
to like to check out and anesthetize mysel. Between the two o
those, its like youre not fring on all cylinders and its not that
kind o party. Its not a rat race, its a road rally or sure.
Working his way back into Hollywoods good graces was
a gradual process. Downey had to successully complete
independent flms like Two Girls and a Guy, and later, The Singing
Detective, to prove he wasnt an insurance risk. For a while, the
actors lie was choppy, and Hollywood always weighs its risks
against the potential rewards o hiring an actor.
I just think theres an understanding, Downey says. Its like
i you want a French-speaking actor who you think is right
to do your flm, you understand that there will be certain
communicative necessities, or whatever. Its really just an
equation. I can think o two people ohand who it never got
as public as it was with me, and ater a certain amount o
time, [proved] the most stable people are the people who are
committedly not unpredictable anymore.
New Hollywood has shown not only its orgiveness in hiring
Downey or a big budget ranchise, but its aith, signing him
to two sequels. This could see Downey playing Iron Man until
another generation o Hollywood takes over.
We wrapped this and Im on to the next thing, Downey says.
Im in great shape and I have tons o energy and I have more
gratitude than I can even bear to express. You could say thats
because I have something to weigh it against, or you could say
its because Im a grateul guy nowadays.
And or that, were all thankul.
continued article
They say the bigger the setback, the
bigger the comeback. I wouldnt
necessarily recommend that people
take that to heart.
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