Although 2023’s Oppenheimer, one of Christopher Nolan’s best movies, was a tense exploration into the life of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the creation of the atomic bomb, the back-and-forth that happened between stars Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. during the press tour was anything but serious. The two may not have shared screen time when they respectively played Kitty Oppenheimer and Lewis Strauss, but while they were promoting the movie last summer, they clearly had a lot of fun together. Case in point, there’s a round-up of videos that made me realize how much the two seriously troll each other.
Put together by Outstanding Screenplays, this compilation, which is chiefly comprised of moments from when the actors were on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with Cillian Murphy to chat about Oppenheimer, shows how often Downey would poke fun at Blunt by saying she was off her game due to ingesting/using certain foods/substances, though Blunt fires one hell of a zinger back at Downey by the end:
As Jimmy Kimmel read off, Robert Downey Jr. joked about how folks at Q&As should go easy on or ignore Emily Blunt at these various events because she had things like a bad clam, margaritas, magic mushrooms and weed gummies, and even that she’d been wearing a Z-Pak of rash cream. It’s obvious Blunt knows this is all in good fun, but I also admire how she was able to dish it back at Downey during the Kimmel interview. When he asked how she lost her voice, she responded that it was because she’d been screaming at him to take a Z-Pak for his chlamydia. However, she accompanied that burn with a kiss to his cheek, so they both won in the end.
Oppenheimer marked the first time that Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt have appeared in the same movie, and I certainly hope it’s not the last. Not only would it be great to see more of these trolling moments, but these two deserve to actually appear in scenes together. I don’t care what movie it’s for, but let’s get the ball rolling on pairing these two back up… and then Downey will have another excuse to come up with fake reasons for why Blunt is acting weird in front of a crowd.
Along with Cillian Murphy, who played Oppenheimer’s title protagonist, Blunt and Downey’s many costars on Christopher Nolan’s most recent movie included Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Jason Clarke, Kenneth Branagh and Alden Ehrenreich. In addition to earning critical acclaim and collecting seven Academy Awards and nominations in six other categories, among numerous other accolades, Oppenheimer earned over $975 million worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing movie of 2023 globally. If you’re inclined to give it a rewatch or perhaps even view it for the first time, it can be streamed with a Peacock subscription.
Emily Blunt can next be seen re-teaming with her Jungle Cruise costar Dwayne Johnson for the The Smashing Machine, the A24 sports drama about Mark Kerr that will be released sometime on the 2025 movies schedule. Following his time as Tony Stark in the MCU, Robert Downey Jr. is set to return to the franchise to play Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. There’s no word yet on what Christopher Nolan’s next movie will be about.
