Robert Downey Jr. has been awarded many prestigious accolades during his long and illustrious career in the film industry.
From a 'Best Actor' Golden Globe win for his role in the 2010 adaptation of Sherlock Holmes to his multiple People's Choice Award wins for his iconic portrayal of Iron Man in the Marvel series, Downey's really secured a lot of victories in his time.
However, there's always one particular movie that seems to crop up again and again during any Downey-centered discussion - and that's his role in the comedy-action film, Tropic Thunder.
Directed by Ben Stiller, the movie tells the story of a group of actors who were shooting a big-budget war movie and were forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.
Brandon T. Jackson, Jack Black, Tom Cruise, Bill Hader, Ben Stiller, Matthew McConaughey, and Robert Downey Jr. all star in Tropic Thunder. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty
The 59-year-old played Kirk Lazarus, a character that saw him physically turn himself from a white man to a Black man, in a process that is more commonly referred to as 'blackface'.
As per the Oxford Dictionary, 'blackface' is a term used to refer to the practice of "wearing make-up to imitate the appearance of a black person.
"The use of such make-up was associated with minstrel shows in the United States from the 1830s until the mid 20th century; it is now regarded as highly offensive."
So of course, naturally a lot of people were left feeling uncomfortable and upset by a veteran actor playing a character that uses "pigmentation alteration" surgery to darken his skin and pass off as a Black man.
Back in 2020, he opened up about the issue during an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
"My mother was horrified," Downey said, recalling his initial feelings about the position. "'Bobby, I’m telling ya, I have a bad feeling about this.' I was like, 'Yeah me too, mom.'"
He continued: "When Ben called and said, 'Hey I’m doing this thing' – you know I think Sean Penn had passed on it or something. Possibly wisely. And I thought, 'Yeah, I’ll do that and I’ll do that after Iron Man.' Then I started thinking, 'This is a terrible idea, wait a minute.' Then I thought, 'Well hold on dude, get real here, where is your heart?' My heart is... I get to be black for a summer in my mind, so there’s something in it for me.
"The other thing is, I get to hold up to nature the insane self-involved hypocrisy of artists and what they think they’re allowed to do on occasion, just my opinion."
The 59-year-old then went on to state that "90 percent of [his] Black friends" referred to the movie as "great."
Credit: Robert Gauthier / Getty
"[Ben Stiller] knew exactly what the vision for this was, he executed it, it was impossible to not have it be an offensive nightmare of a movie," Downey Jr. continued. "And 90 percent of my black friends were like, 'Dude, that was great.'
"I can’t disagree with [the other 10 percent], but I know where my heart lies. I think that it’s never an excuse to do something that’s out of place and out of its time, but to me, it blasted the cap on [the issue]. I think having a moral psychology is job one."
He then stated: "Sometimes, you just gotta go, 'Yeah I effed up'", but allegedly in his defense "Tropic Thunder is about how wrong [blackface] is, so I take exception."
The actor has repeatedly denied that his intention with the role was not to offend the masses and instead to highlight the importance of not doing blackface - though fans are seemingly reluctant to accept the Avengers star's reasoning.
As per IndyWire, Downey received critical acclaim for his performance in Tropic Thunder and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
The Oppenheimer star opened up about the criticism again during his recent appearance on Rob Lowe’s Literally! podcast, and made comparisons to Norman Lear’s sitcom All in the Family, which also focused on racism themes.
"I was looking back at ‘All in the Family,’ and they had a little disclaimer that they were running at the beginning of the show," he said, per Movie Web. "People should look it up, exactly what it is, because it is an antidote to this clickbait addiction to grievance that [people seem] to have with everything these days."
"The language was saying, 'Hey, this is the reason that we’re doing these things that, in a vacuum, you could pick apart and say are wrong and bad,'" he continued, adding that there "used to be an understanding with an audience" but now "things have gotten very muddied".
Tropic Thunder was directed by actor Ben Stiller. Credit: Pascal Le Segretain / Getty
Downey Jr. went on to praise the director, noting that Stiller aimed to fight "against all of these tropes that are not right and [that] had been perpetuated for too long".
In addition to this, the 58-year-old Stiller - who played Tugg Speedman in the film - previously revealed on X that he is still "proud" of the comedy movie, writing: "I make no apologies for Tropic Thunder."
"It’s always been a controversial movie since when we opened. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it," he added.
