Yes, Robert Downey Jr. played Kirk Lazarus in the 2008 comedy film "Tropic Thunder."
The 2008 satirical action comedy movie “Tropic Thunder” was directed by Ben Stiller. The film is about the filming of a Vietnam War movie, with Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, and Brandon T. Jackson in lead roles. The other cast members are Nick Nolte, Danny McBride, Matthew McConaughey, Bill Hader, and Tom Cruise.
“Tropic Thunder” makes fun of the present Hollywood studio system, method acting, and numerous acclaimed war movies, particularly those based on the Vietnam War. The plot follows the cast members, who are left in a jungle by their irate director (Steve Coogan) and must rely on their ability to act to survive the actual action and danger.
The characters, plot, fake trailers, and cast performances all earned favorable reviews; Downey Jr.'s performance received the most kudos overall. However, there was backlash regarding the portrayal of people with disabilities and the use of brownface/blackface.
Before its November 18, 2008, release on home media, the movie had already made over $195 million worldwide. It debuted at the top of the American box office and held that position for three weeks.
What is Robert Downey Jr.’s Blackface controversy?
Robert Downey Jr. portrays Kirk Lazarus in the 2008 comedy “Tropic Thunder.” In the movie, the controversial "pigmentation alteration" procedure was performed by Australian method actor and five-time Academy Award winner Kirk Lazarus to darken his skin to play the black character Staff Sergeant Lincoln Osiris.
The history of Blackface in America is unpleasant and is still grounds for "cancellation" today. If a celebrity (or anyone else) is caught doing this, they are frequently criticized in the media. Even for satirical purposes, Robert Downey Jr.'s use of blackface in “Tropic Thunder” sparked controversy at the time and has lately made headlines again.
According to IndieWire, Robert stated, “I got 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.” He further added, “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…In my defense, Tropic Thunder is about how wrong [blackface] is, so I take exception.”
Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Kirk Lazarus in “Tropic Thunder” earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2008. Even though Robert is depicted in what is now considered modern blackface (brownface), many people thought his position to be contentious. However, a blogger for CinemaBlend had a different opinion. Robert, in his opinion, deserved the Oscar nomination very much.
According to him, “Downey’s performance is shockingly complex, especially for a parody comedy. But there’s no parody in his performance. He commits as fully to his duality as the fictional character he’s playing commits to the fictional character he’s playing on top of that. Downey immerses himself in the part, so much so that even when Kirk Lazarus takes off his mask to reveal his true self, there’s still no sign of RDJ anywhere in the character.”
How much did the Tropic Thunder earn at the box office?
In its first 3,319 theaters, Tropic Thunder made $36,845,588 in its first five days of release in the United States and Canada. With $25,812,796, the movie won the weekend’s box office, beating both Mirrors and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which debuted the same weekend.
DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan responded to the movie's opening weekend box office numbers by saying, "We're thrilled, quite frankly. It played out exactly how we hoped." The movie was distributed in 418 Russian and 19 United Arab Emirates theaters during its foreign debut weekend, grossing $2.2 million and $319,000, respectively.
As the second movie of 2008 (after The Dark Knight) to keep the top spot for more than two straight weekends, the movie continued to dominate the American and Canadian box office for the ensuing two weekends. The movie had a 3,473 theater-wide release, ranking it in the top 25 widest releases in the United States for 2008.
The movie had the fifth-highest domestic R-rated box office take in 2008. Stiller's biggest-grossing project as a director was Tropic Thunder, which earned over $110 million in the United States and Canada.
The movie made a total of $195,702,811 worldwide, with gross receipts of $110,515,313 in the United States and Canada and $85,187,498 in other regions.
FAQs
A. Yes, Robert Downey Jr. played Kirk Lazarus in the 2008 comedy film "Tropic Thunder."
A. In "Tropic Thunder," Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Kirk Lazarus sparked controversy due to his use of modern-day blackface (brownface), even though it was meant satirically.
A. While both involve skin-darkening for racial impersonation, brownface mimics Middle Eastern, South Asian, or Hispanic backgrounds, while blackface mocks Black people, feeding stereotypes.
