Robert Downey Jr

Robert Downey Jr is at his cheekiest but charming best as Tony Stark aka Iron Man in director Jon Favreau’s highly-anticipated “Iron Man 2”. In this intimate interview, Ashley Hillard speaks to the comeback king about the film, his ‘perfect’ skin, and what’s going on with the “Sherlock Holmes” sequel.

Q: Was it a lot of fun on set?

A: I could say that it was fun. I was concerned with the outcome of this film and the experience of the other artists involved. I was very seldom thinking about, strangely, myself because whenever they said rolling I was playing a character who seemingly is only thinking about himself, even though he’s had this awakening of sorts. So, uh, what was fun? But I could say it was fun when Tony was just hanging out in the donut hole, but the truth be told is I was wearing a cumbersome suit, I was not really properly rooted to the spot I was on so really what I was thinking about while I was looking relaxed and cool and eating a donut was, Jesus Christ please, if I move my ankle one inch I’m going to slide off this donut. I really hope, it was getting a little windy, I was basically there no expecting to be this nervous cause I’m not really afraid of heights, but I’m wearing this stuff where I won’t be able to break my fall, so I was kind of troubleshooting. Not in a neurotic way, I was just going Jesus this is not really fun at all.

Q: How long did you have to wear the suit that day?

A: A half hour that day.

Q: Do you feel you have achieved everything you wanted?

A: Well, it depends. If I define myself as everything I wanted and everything I want having to do with my career then, no. I don’t really consider my career the most important thing.

Q: What do you like about the Todd Phillips movie you’re working on?

A: It’s the second greatest story ever told. Have you guys heard of this ”Due Date” movie that I did?

Q. Yeah, I saw the clip.

RDJ cont’d: Oh, you saw the clip? Well, I’ve seen the movie. (laughter) It’s about my favorite thing I’ve ever done. Largely due to Zack Elyphenacus *** it’s criminally insane, brilliant and Todd Phillips who is just one of the great American directors of my memory. Is this the due date junket?

Q: What makes you mad?

A: Miscommunication. And uh people being put in positions of influence who don’t know what they’re doing at all! It annoys me, it unnerves me. Really here’s what makes me mad, what pisses me off are the things that put me in fear. So I need to manage my fear, first and foremost. That way, if you were to get me mad, right, like I have no conspiracy theory cell in my body that’s activated, because the truth is, conspiracies aren’t the problem, Capitalism is the problem. Capitalism is what it is and we’re just hacking away at this three billion ton block of granite with like, little spoons, like we’ve always been doing so what am I gonna, there’s nothing to worry about really.

Q: In the movie, Stark blames his father for everything…

A: Does he?

Q: Well, as a father, if you and your son go to see this movie do you talk about it?

A: Well, let me clarify first. I don’t think Tony blames his father for anything. I think he feels that the perception of his father does not match up with his emotional experience of his father, so uh it’s pretty different. It’s not one of those things where he’s saying my problems are because I’m in my dad’s shadow, I think what he’s saying is I’m old enough to know that the story doesn’t jive with my experience and my experience was that I didn’t think he thought all that much of me. I think that’s really important because Tony is not made well until he realizes that he was wrong about that. So as far as parenting goes, I mean isn’t that the way it is, you know? No matter what kind of experience any of us had, our parents were doing the best they could do. And then there are always social constraints and then there’s always generational constraints. To me, when looked at in that light, it actually to me has so much emotional resonance because I can start having empathy for people, you know? When you have a mom and a dad and then you have kids, oh my God, it’s just crazy.

Q: If you had super powers, what would they be?

A: Oh let me see…

Q: If you could be Iron Man, Spider Man and Super Man, which one would you be?

A: Well I mean the most realistic one to have is the Iron Man stuff, because it’s the idea of being able to build a piece of tech and then go do all kinds of stuff.

Q: If the Iron Man suit was available to you, would you use it?

A: I think it’s the one that people are most likely working towards. I attempt to live in reality as often as possible, fantasy is fun but then you wake up. So I don’t know, I think if we were supposed to have those powers people would have them.

Q: What type of relationship do you have with your son?

A: Look, my lot in life is for some reason or other I have the easiest relationship with my teenager of any of my friends.

Q: What do you think of superheroes taking over Hollywood?

A: Uh well we were just talking about mythology, right? I mean it use to be the Iliad. I just think that things are changing a little bit. I’m kind of fascinated with the way things are going now. Technologically somewhat but also in just this kind of way that people are making movies successful by their own volition more than ever. It’s almost like the people are deciding what way to turn entertainment.

Q: Does having fun with your acting give you more freedom?

A: Absolutely.

Q: You are very handsome. And I have a question –

A: Oh, okay.

Q: How do you take care of your skin, body, face?

A: Uh..

Your skin is perfect.

A: Thank you. I had what looked like a third eye right here and here’s what I did. I thought great, I’m going to have this zit on my forehead for press. And I thought, so what? As soon as I stopped worrying about it, I’m not saying that’s what made it go away, but now it’s not there.

I can still see it.

A: Well it looked like it was going to need its own zip code.

Q: I read that when you were growing up, you moved around a lot. More recently I read that you bought a house here. Do you like to be settled or are you more of a globetrotter?

A: I love being settled, but here’s the thing too, I’ve realized it’s so important to get out and see other cultures and travel, it really is. Like I thought I understood the Renaissance, in a nutshell, and then I went and had a tour guide three thousand times smarter than me tell me, walking around the Vizzi, in four pictures they told me about Byzantine, Renaissance, mid and late Renaissance stuff and I was like oh my God, thank God these people did this. Who did this? The Medicci, were they bad? It doesn’t matter, look what they did! And I’m there with my kid and he’s kind of going like, uhh this is great. We should get a postcard from this place. And I’m like I know, I want a postcard too! So here’s the thing, I’m a California resident, I’m like Tony Stark you know, I live by the beach, I have a nice spread, I’m a lucky guy but I realize more and more it’s not just important it’s crucial I get out and travel more and understand more about other cultures and people and how we’ve all shaped the world together. I have such an incomplete education.

Q: Have you been to Brazil?

A: I haven’t. I’m dying to go to Brazil.

Q: What do you have coming up?

A: I’m going to do Sherlock Holmes again, I’m going back and really reading the books again, Conan Doyle and all that stuff. I’m working with Alfonso Cuaron doing this 3D space movie about the Hubble telescope and people trying to fix it. It’s really inspiring just talking to him, uh he lives in London, he’s originally from Mexico City and it’s great cause there’s just a little bit of a language barrier which impedes nothing at all because he’s a brilliant guy, he’s a thoughtful guy. I’m really just soaking it up from a lot of other people, you know, whether their people of note or not I’m just realizing oh my God, there’s so much, there are so many cool people and I just kinda want to listen to them for a change.

Q: You seem pretty open about so I hope you don’t mind me asking, but with all the overdoses going on right now….

A: Oh please, you seem sweet, ask me another question.

Q: Who is your favorite person to improvise with? Zack?

A: I don’t want to say Zack because he doesn’t really improvise, he does whatever he wants whether he leaves the set or not, like, for instance there’s a scene in Due Date where I thought I’d ask him, cause he says you’re acting like a child Peter and I go have you used the bathroom? Cause we’re going to be in the car for awhile and then he walks around the car and says that’s where I’m going to pee pee. He walks off camera to where a bathroom might be and I say you can’t use that and then Todd says yeah, that’ll just be the scene. Five other times in the movie during the middle of a scene if he’s getting mad at me I just go have you used the bathroom yet? And he goes you’re right.

Q: What do you like to do when you’re at home?

A: I’m rarely clothed, I’m riding horses bareback. No, I uh I say you know what? This is a nice colored towel, but it doesn’t really match the paint, oh that’s right because these towels are from the last house, you know what, don’t worry about it, don’t worry about it. Well but maybe I’ll get some yellow towels. Then I go downstairs and maybe I got a little stereo system and I start hooking it up and I go look I put all the wires in the right place that’s it, no one’s looking and they don’t care. But I go, look what I did! This is great! I’ve got the speakers and maybe I’ll put some old Steely Dan or some classical music and I go what would somebody think who thinks I’m this hip movie star and I’m walking around listening to classical music or yes, recently again obsessed with the Renaissance and old like chamber music or acapella music, I’m like some old queen like walking around the house going oh listen to the Oboe.

Q: Are you pretty Internet savvy?

A: Uh, Mrs. Downey covers all of our data needs. I’m essentially I’m a Simian, three steps below primate when it comes to computers.

Q: What book are you reading, aside from the one about the Renaissance?

A: Besides that one? I just finished it well, like I said I’m back to uh, I’ve read all the Conan Doyle stuff, all the short stories and all the books, and so now I’m back to Volume One I’m going to start over again at the beginning of uh Conan Doyle’s stories. Thank you very much.