Entertainment - Media News Watch originally published at Entertainment - Media News Watch
While he spent more time with Batman than Iron Man, director Christopher Nolan has praised the move to cast Downey Jr. in the title role.
Although he had been on a minor roll by 2008, starring in Zodiac, A Scanner Darkly and, uh, The Shaggy Dog, Robert Downey Jr. was far from being a box office draw. Jon Favreau took a big risk by casting Robert Downey Jr. as the lead in the movie that launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Iron Man. The casting of Robert Downey Jr. has been cited by many as a key reason for the MCU’s success. Now, it’s someone with ties not to Iron Man but Batman that has praised the move.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Christopher Nolan lauded director Jon Favreau for taking the risk of casting Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man aka Tony Stark. “I thought that when [Jon] Favreau saw the opportunity to cast him as Iron Man…It was one of the best casting decisions in movie history. You can see what happened and how it affected everything. The movie star charisma, that wonderful charisma comes into play.” The movie star charisma, this wonderful charisma comes into play.” Nolan noted that Downey Jr. had to tone down his charisma to play Lewis Strauss, a key antagonist of J. Robert Oppenheimer, urging him to instead “lose yourself in this human being.”
With Robert Downey Jr. as the lead, Iron Man would go on to become the second highest grossing movie of 2008. It was a miracle that Iron Man, with Robert Downey Jr. as the star, became the second-highest grossing movie of 2008, behind only Nolan’s The Dark Knight. This was despite the actor’s reputation at the time and the fact that many did not think the film had the same box office appeal as the other Marvel properties. Kevin Feige, Marvel’s president, said: “I still think the biggest risk – which seems outrageous now – was casting Robert Downey Jr. It was both the greatest risk and most important thing for the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We wouldn’t be here without Robert. I really believe that.” Downey Jr. would go on to play the character multiple times, including in his own trilogy and the four Avengers movies. What would have happened if Timothy Olyphant had gotten the role? Let us know below!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ymC0M6yhBo
Entertainment - Media News Watch originally published at Entertainment - Media News Watch
