Robert Downey Jr. (left) in 2023; Robert Downey Jr. in 1992’s ‘Chaplin’.Photo:Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images; Studio Canal/Shutterstock
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images; Studio Canal/Shutterstock
Robert Downey Jr., fresh offhis Oscar nominationforOppenheimer, is looking back on the film that started it all.
In an interview with the co-hosts ofThe Viewposted Wednesday, theIron Manactor, 58, revealed that he’s relieved to have not won his first of three Academy Award nominations for playing Charlie Chaplin in 1992’sChaplin.
“I was young and crazy,” Downey Jr. said when asked about losing that race toScent of a Woman’sAl Pacino.
Winning at only age 28, he toldJoy Beharwith a wry smile, “would have put me under the impression that I was on the right track.”
Turning to co-hostWhoopi Goldberg, his costar in the 1991 comedySoapdish, he added, “Whoopi remembers.”
Robert Downey Jr. at the 2024 Golden Globes.CBS
CBS
“We were on those tracks together,” agreed Goldberg, 68.
In a clip from his appearance onThe Viewposted onX(formerly known as Twitter), the actor also shared his reaction toOppenheimer’s success among the 96thAcademy Awardnominations, announced Tuesday. “I was just so happy for all 13 nominations,” he said, adding he “couldn’t believe that it wasEmily Blunt’sfirst Oscar nomination.”
Blunt and leading actorCillian Murphyare both first-time Oscar nominees alongside Downey Jr., who plays U.S. Atomic Energy Commission chairman Lewis Strauss inChristopher Nolan’s Best Picture contender aboutJ. Robert Oppenheimer. In addition to leading the Academy nominations tally,Oppenheimerwas the third-highest-grossing movie of 2023 and thehighest-grossing biographical filmof all time.
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Cillian Murphy (left) and Robert Downey Jr. in ‘Oppenheimer’.Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures
Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures
Of learning about his nomination, Downey Jr. recalled that he “walked downstairs past our somewhat moody cat Montgomery” and that his wifeSusan“wanted to give me the opportunity to have a cup of coffee” before discussing the news.
The cast ofOppenheimer, theGolden GlobeandCritics Choice Awardwinner shared, “became really close during the shoot… Of course, there was the strike so we weren’t really able to have the full experience, but it seems like the movies are back, it seems like things are kind of something like normal. So we’re just happy that we get to celebrate.”
The Marvel star’s second of three Oscar nominations was for his supporting role in 2008’s action comedyTropic Thunder.Winning at that ceremony was the lateHeath Ledger, for playing the Joker in Nolan’sThe Dark Knight.
Among Downey Jr.’s upcoming projects is the HBO miniseriesThe Sympathizer.
source: people.com
