In the new issue of GQ magazine (which is awesomely available in pieces online, but not on my iPad, which makes me feel like a schmuck subscriber) is an interview with Robert Downey Jr. in which the star of The Avengers and the upcoming Iron Man 3 is asked about his feelings on winning an Oscar. His response is appropriately sarcastic and genuine:
How much would you like to win an Oscar?
“I couldn’t care less.”
Really?
“Well, I know it’s going to happen.”
Is that the persona or the person speaking?
“That’s just a fact.”
You’re certain?
“I, personally, would be shocked if we went to the end of the tape now and I didn’t have at least one.”
Why?
“Because it just doesn’t make sense. That’s why I don’t mind showing up and watching everybody else get them.”
Why doesn’t it make sense?
“Because I’m young enough, and I’m running down being occupied with these kind of genre movies, close enough. Even the next thing we’re doing with the missus, I’m so confident about it. It’s the best script the studio has; it’s the best thing I’ve read in years. You know, honestly, my real answer to that is: I don’t care. I used to think I cared, and I couldn’t care less. Now, I’m not saying I wouldn’t get a little choked up, but it is amazing to see how people are literally hyperventilating when they get up there, because they have such an attachment to this outcome. I mean, it’s not like we’re at the fucking Olympics or something.”
He tempers his view, a little.
“Look, even if I don’t get one directly, eventually they’re just going to have to give me one when I get old. So no matter how you slice it, I’m getting one.”
Just to check: Will one be enough?
“No, I should probably have more. But zero’s fine.” The humility sits there alone for a moment, just long enough to get lonely. “Zero, or two.”
Meanwhile, other outlets are keying on the part of the interview where Downey discusses an ankle injury he sustained while filming Iron Man 3 and how he had a contract for more Marvel movies for the last five years… but no longer:
“[The ankle injury] got me thinking about how big the message from your cosmic sponsor needs to be before you pick it up. How many genre movies can I do? How many follow-ups to a successful follow-up are actually fun? Because, as quiet as it’s kept, I come from a family of very innovative writers and directors and actors and artists, and the circle of friends they were in were the people I heard having pun-offs playing poker at two in the morning, and it was just the most comforting aspect of my childhood. So there’s this kind of legacy of souls from what I consider to be a very particular time in entertainment, and I’m sensing a return to that—it’s what me and the missus are doing next. It’s not unlike: I heard Brady signed on for three more years with New England, and then he’s done being a QB, because he’ll be 40. I’m 47, and I’ll be 50.”
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Downey play a significant role in The Avengers 2 and perhaps play smaller roles in future Marvel movies, but hang up the suit for good after the next Avengers sequel, which is currently slated for release on May 1, 2015… at which time Downey will be 50-years-old.
