'Avengers' Star "Worried" His MCU Role Would Hurt His Acting Skills, Takes Jab at "Impure" Hollywood

After reaching unprecedented heights of global fame thanks to his role in the highest-grossing franchise of all time, this beloved MCU actor is letting his thoughts on “real acting” known ahead of his explosive summer blockbuster.

In 2008, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige set out on an ambitious feat: to resurrect a dying superhero franchise and develop it into one of the most successful cinematic universes of all time. To do so, he enlisted the help of a then-down-on-his-luck Hollywood veteran Robert Downey Jr. to help kickstart the MCU with Iron Man (2008).

The movie was a hit, helping to restore Downey Jr.’s reputation while also sending a clear message to moviegoers: Marvel was back. Over the next decade, the actor would reprise his role as “genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist” Tony Stark (AKA Iron Man) in a handful of Iron Man sequels and team-ups, including Avengers (2012), before retiring his superhero mantle in Avengers: Endgame (2019).

Now, Downey Jr. is on to bigger and, in the eyes of some, better things, with the Hollywood legend set to star in Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated WWII epic Oppenheimer (2023). In the movie, he plays Lewis Strauss, a controversial businessman and Naval officer, alongside an A-list cast from the likes of Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt.

Speaking on his newest film to The New York Times, Downey Jr. opened up about one of his first prominent gigs post-MCU, where he revealed that his time as Iron Man “a hundred percent” was a concern of how it would affect his acting.

The quality of actors’ performances in big-budget, CGI-laden superhero films has been a hot topic in the entertainment industry for years now, despite Marvel Studios having the resources to hire on acclaimed performers like Scarlet Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L. Jackson, and Benedict Cumberbatch over the years.

Their occasionally lackluster performances are often chalked up to “green screen acting,” which can sometimes have actors standing in the middle of sprawling warehouses set against digitally created backdrops, with their “scene partners” being people in motion-capture suits or tennis ball stand-ins for “Chroma key” editing, which takes place during post-production.

When speaking on his time in the MCU and his subsequent transition to being on a Christopher Nolan set, which are infamous for their practical effects, Downey Jr. said that The Dark Knight (2008) director advised him to “work those other muscles” when it came to his Oppenheimer performance:

Yes. A hundred percent, and I knew there was a point where Chris Nolan was endorsing, let’s work those other muscles, but let’s do it while rendering you devoid of your usual go-to things.

Later in the interview, Downey Jr. was asked a more profound question about “the soul of cinema,” specifically noting that he played the biggest role in the rise of the MCU. The franchise undoubtedly changed Hollywood forever but remains controversial amongst legendary auteurs like Martin Scorsese, who famously said Marvel movies “aren’t real cinema.”

In response, Downey Jr. referenced two of the most iconic movies in film history: Gone With the Wind (1939) and The Ten Commandments (1956), noting that people can disagree about what “a better representation” of cinema truly is:

If you’re talking about, adjusted for inflation, the biggest movies of all time, ‘Gone With the Wind’ and ‘The Ten Commandments’ are there. I’m sure that in the years those movies came out, there were probably films that you and I would agree were a better representation of what cinema can be.

Circling back to his experience with Marvel, the actor continued, saying he didn’t have the “luxury of wondering what the longer-term repercussions” of being Iron Man would be. In a very Tony-Stark-esque move, he also stated that while many were debating the MCU’s effect on Hollywood, he “had a Super Bowl ring on each finger” already, pointing to the franchise’s remarkable success and the fact that he starred in the highest-grossing movie of all time with Endgame:

I did not have the luxury of wondering what the longer-term repercussions of coming in as a second-tier superhero for something that was going to build out into a cinematic universe would be — and it didn’t matter, because I had a Super Bowl ring on each finger while this debate was being contested with much heat.

Having grown up with Robert Downey Sr. as his father, a prominent filmmaker, Downey Jr. said he “was raised in a family that rebelled against the idea of a summer blockbuster having any merit,” with popular, crowd-pleasing flicks not being seen as a valid form of art:

The other side of it is that I was raised in a family that rebelled against the idea of a summer blockbuster having any merit and thought that the films that were preferred viewing that year weren’t any good, either.

The actor then compared his experiences being on both sides of the cinema spectrum, further elaborating that he’s happy to have had his Marvel experience, but is “happy that [he] regained [his] connection with a more purist approach to making movies:”

So coming from that other place, entering the box-office-weekend-dominating place, then going into this spot now where I’m happy that I’m in this quality product — I’m happy that I regained my connection with a more purist approach to making movies.

Although Downey Jr. almost certainly doesn’t have any ill will against Marvel, considering his chummy relationship with Kevin Feige, the actor does seem relieved to be returning to a more grounded, dramatic role in a film like Oppenheimer, which used many classic Hollywood techniques to bring it to life on the silver screen.

The Iron Man actor’s recent remarks come on the heels of the long-standing debate about whether or not “green screen acting” is “real” acting, with many Marvel alums coming forward about how dehumanizing and, frankly, bizarre the experience of filming with CGI co-stars really is.

This issue made headlines recently after Secret Invasion star Emilia Clarke defended green screen acting, noting that it does, in fact, take skill and that renowned actors wouldn’t flood to Marvel Studios if they didn’t see it as worthwhile.

As for Robert Downey Jr.’s latest comments, his version of Tony Stark existed before the debate of whether or not superhero movies are “real cinema” even started, with the actor almost singlehandedly re-sparking interest in the genre after the release of Iron Man. So for him to continuously defend Marvel’s honor feels unnecessary, with people seemingly trying to pit him against the legendary role that all but saved his dwindling acting career now that’s he’s out.

 Still, it sounds like Downey Jr. is simply a Hollywood traditionalist at heart who merely enjoys the practical effects and high-brow filmmaking behind projects like Oppenheimer, and the actor is one of few lucky enough to be a part of both “sides” of the industry.

With someone who has an extensive resume and range as Downey Jr., it’s certainly interesting to hear his perspective on the summer blockbuster as an actor who’s been in the industry for nearly his entire life. Ultimately, there’s more than enough room at the box office for popular, crowd-pleasing hits like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) and Oppenheimer (2023) to succeed at the same time, and clearly, Downey Jr. still has nothing but love for Marvel Studios, even if he’s not returning anytime soon.

What do you think about Robert Downey Jr.’s remarks? Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below.