Howard Stern loves Robert Downey Jr.’s performance as Iron Man. In fact, he thinks it’s noteworthy enough to have been nominated for an Academy Award and thinks it’s a damn shame that Downey Jr. was never nominated for playing Tony Stark. But what does Robert Downey Jr. think?
The actor heard Howard Stern out on a recent episode of the shock jock’s The Howard Stern Show, before noting that there have been conversations about whether or not the studio should have pushed harder for awards recognition for the actor.
I'm so glad you brought this up because there was some talk about it and I said, ‘Let's not.” And because I'm much more like you than you might really want to believe. I listen to the show and I agree with most all of your opinions, varied though they may be. Occasionally, you'll go on some tributary trail of thought that I'll go like 'Oh that's not how I see it, but I love that you see it that way.'
So, according to Robert Downey Jr., the actor talked with the studio about possibly putting up an Oscars campaign. Although it’s unclear which movie that talk may have been tied to, if I had to guess, it's likely to have been his outstanding performance in Avengers: Endgame, given that it was a major news story when Disney released its Marvel-oriented Oscar campaign and Robert Downey Jr.'s name wasn't on it a couple of days ago.
Still, ultimately, Robert Downey Jr. told Howard Stern that it was enough that Tony Stark is viable in the annals of pop culture. He's left the role behind now, and he did not want to be considered "for your consideration" as it were. However, he did note it was fun to hear Howard Stern espouse his own thoughts on the matter. This is true even though Endgame director Joe Russo previously said the actor deserved a nod for the gig.
Elsewhere in the interview, Robert Downey Jr. also mentioned that when he signed on for Iron Man over a decade ago, he didn’t really know the MCU would end up being what it has become. Per the actor,
I’ll tell you the truth. I didn’t expect it to become what it became. And it is this very large, multi-headed hydra at this point.
As it stands, it’s very clear Marvel movies are popular entities worldwide, with many earning over a billion dollars at the box office. On the awards front, things are a bit less clear. A lot of Marvel movies have earned Oscar nominations in the visual effects category, including all three Iron Man movies and the Avengers and Avengers: Infinity War – all movies featuring Robert Downey Jr.
However, when you get to some of the big ticket Academy Awards – categories like Best Picture and the individual acting awards – Marvel hasn’t done as well with nominations, much less wins. It was, in fact, a huge deal when Black Panther was nominated for Best Picture last year, also earning a win for Best Original Score and a nod for Best Original Song.
This was the first time an MCU movie had been nominated for Best Picture, meaning people were maybe changing their stance about superhero movies and their merit for the first time. (Just don’t ask Martin Scorsese what he thinks.) This year, Avengers: Endgame is the MCU movie that has been more in the awards conversation, along with DC’s Joker, which is currently getting some buzz, particularly for Joaquin Phoenix’s take on Arthur Fleck.
As for Robert Downey Jr., it looks like the actor is not trying to compete with (potentially) Joaquin Phoenix this year. Meanwhile there have been a ton of notable performances in cinema over the last few months, particularly with Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. The awards race is only heating up, so keep an eye out to hear which flicks are gaining notice before the 2020 Oscars, which will air on Sunday, February 9 of next year.
