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With Christopher Nolan-helmed Oppenheimer's release on the horizon, Robert Downey Jr.'s casting as American businessman Lewis Strauss (1896-1974), who was also a philanthropist and founding commissioner of the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) for two terms, is making fans anxious for what is to come. The much-awaited movie releases worldwide on July 21, 2023, and has been shot in large format film stock, making it most suited for a 70mm IMAX presentation.
Oppenheimer features Cillian Murphy as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, Emily Blunt as Katherine "Kitty" Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as Leslie Groves, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, Josh Hartnett as Ernest Lawrence, Casey Affleck as Boris Pash, Rami Malek as David Hill, and Kenneth Branagh as Niels Bohr.
The premiere of Oppenheimer was held at the Le Grand Rex in Paris on July 11, 2023.
Robert Downey Jr. outside the world of Avengers
Robert Downey Jr. has starred in 10 films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), starting with Iron Man (2008) and ending with Avengers: Endgame (2019). Since Marvel, he has worked in Stephen Gaghan's Dolittle as the titular character, hosted a 2019 YouTube docu-series called The Age of A.I., and premiered his show, Downey's Dream Cars, on Max.
However, what fans ponder from time to time is the kind of cinema the 58-year-old American actor is drifting towards given that his stint as Iron Man with MCU is over.
The actor has always had reservations about a superhero role restricting his skillset as an actor as he said to New York Times in a July 10, 2023, interview:
"You start to wonder if a muscle you have hasn’t atrophied."
When asked whether investing a decade into the commercial superhero cinematic world paved the way for doubts, he added:
"Yes. A hundred per cent, and I knew there was a point where Chris Nolan was endorsing, let’s work those other muscles, but let’s do it while rendering you devoid of your usual go-to things."
Before playing Tony Stark aka Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. had previously appeared as the titular character in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (2009), which earned him a Golden Globe. He won his first Golden Globe for his role as Larry Paul in the television series Ally McBeal - a show he took up right after he was released from the Corcoran Substance Abuse Treatment Facility.
On the same note, Downey Jr. was nominated for an Academy Award in the 'Best Supporting Actor' category for Tropic Thunder (2008). His early accolades include a BAFTA Award and an Academy Award nomination in the 'Best Actor' category for his work in Chaplin (1992).
Despite struggles with sobriety and legal issues during the brief period of 1996-2001, Downey Jr. managed to bounce back and deliver movies like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), David Fincher's Zodiac (2007), and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011).
Robert Downey Jr. and his future beyond MCU
Known for his quick wit, big mouth, and sarcasm, Robert Downey Jr. feels that this summer will witness the battle for the soul of cinema. Aside from Oppenheimer, he is also set to appear in a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo and in A24's The Sympathizer. Additionally, he has been scheduled to star in Shane Black's Play Dirty and Adam McKay's Average Height, Average Build.
Fans have tried to draw a parallel between his chaotic personal life and the experimental roles that he has picked up in the past. Amidst ongoing career reset, Robert Downey Jr. spoke to NY Times and remarked on the probability of the element of risk missing in his career choices:
"That element of risk: Is this something that is relatively low or mid-degree of difficulty? Or is this something that to fail at it is to be walking between two large buildings — what was that guy’s name?"
About starring in a Nolan movie right after his professional career break, Downey Jr. stated at the UK premiere of Oppenheimer:
“I’m just going to flat-out say it. This is the best film I’ve ever been in."
Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan's next is an audio-visual treat for its stunning cinematography courtesy of Hoyte van Hoytema and for its musical score by Ludwig Göransson (of Black Panther fame).
