Robert Downey Jr. On Being Iron Man
Filed under: Action, Casting, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek
It is an almost inevitable fact of life -- no matter how much I scoff at any particular superhero movie, no matter how poor I think the casting choices are, how stupid the script sounds, or how brain dead the director is, I will eventually be geeked-out excited for the flick. I can't dodge the truth of my existence: I am a fanboy. Yeah, a fanboy who spends a fair amount of time worrying and criticizing, but in the end I am still a fanboy.I've always been semi-excited for the Iron Man flick. I feel the "origins" storyline is good script material and I like Jon Favreau as a director. I haven't been particularly impressed with the casting thus far, but my little fanboy switch flipped to "on" after reading Superhero Hype's brief discussion with Robert Downey Jr. Like with Nic Cage (who will be playing Ghost Rider), it turns out Downey Jr. is a big Marvel fan from childhood, and earnestly pursued the role because he just wanted to be Tony Stark. And like with Nic Cage, this makes me happy. It means the guy stepping into a classic role at least has some idea of who the character actually is, and might be able to play it closer to the comic book feel. He also said he'd love to be on board for three full movies if opportunity allows, which yours truly sincerely hopes is the case.
Question for commenters: Does being a fan (in addition to being an actor, of course) make you a better fit for a comic book role?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-07-2006 @ 3:51PM
Dog door said...
Of course. If I'm a fan, I know almost all about this comic, so I can play role better. BUT if I can't impress needing role I won't be good actor.
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11-14-2006 @ 4:05PM
Joyce Schroder said...
Of course, if you have been a fan of Iron Man from childhood and know the character, Tony Stark, inside and out..... and you are the incredible, versatile actor that Robert Downey Jr is .... why wouldn't that make you perfect for the role?
In addition to that, what man wouldn't be thrilled to play his childhood idol on the big screen !!!!! He pursued this role ..... here is a quote from an interview "I went after it like a greyhound after a rabbit," "I loved Marvel and 'Iron Man' to me is the goods."
Not only is he a brilliant actor, he becomes his character, no matter how small or large the role, no matter what type of character he plays. He always gives 1000 % to any role he plays. Tommy Palotta, producer of A Scanner Darkly, said of Robert, "he always takes his role to the next level?" above and beyond what the role is. He is a perfectionist .... he is so detail conscious, As Robert said in one article, he wants to do the "motion action captures" himself, which will continue on for 8 mos after the filming is complete. He is so much a "hands on " actor .... I think he needs to know that every detail is done perfectly! You can see where he is going with his career ..... to director and possibly to a working producer. He will want to do every facet of a film to make sure it is done to its finest in every way.
And my answer to your question, Does being a fan (in addition to being an actor, of course) make you a better fit for a comic book role?
INDEED IT DOES!! AT LEAST THIS FAN/ACTOR !!
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11-20-2006 @ 9:26AM
Tim Branton said...
I think being a fan-actor can affect the performance for sure. But whether it improves or just poisons the acting is something we will only know when the movie's done. I don't like Robert Downey Jr. He's always like "I've changed..." blah blah blah... And then he's back
with some kind of drug-related case again. But I do love Nic Cage. I don't know how well he's gonna make it as Ghost Rider but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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