Robert Downey Jr Talks The Sympathizer, Marvel and Everything In Between

Robert, you did a film called Less Than Zero. Do you remember? What was the on-set vibe when the cameras weren't rolling? It was great. Just imagine hanging out with young Jamie Girtz, James Spader, Andrew McCarthy. It was just so fun and cool. We were all kids. When the cameras weren't rolling, what was it like? You know, everyone just being 80s folks. Hey, I'm Robert Downey Jr. and Esquire has asked me to explain some things. Let's see how it goes. Can you give us the first thought that comes to mind when you look at your 80s movie wardrobe? Oh yeah. I mean, look at that. I just think it was the coolest time ever for clothes in the history of humans. And now it's over. But you can bring it back. But don't wear red leather jackets. Those are done. Trust me. What's the origin story for your love of cars? Always loved cars. Forget even my personal life. Like in The Pickup Artist, there was this 68 Rally Sport convertible. And Home for the Holidays, I was driving this muscle car. Then even in Iron Man, there was this Audi RS8. So I've always kind of marked seasons of my life and my career by like what was going on in the automotive industry. It's so stupid. Though nowadays you'll never find me going two miles an hour over the speed limit. So I don't know why I have all these fast cars. I'm never going to break a law ever again. Promise. Is there an elusive dream car you want to get your hands on? Yeah. I want an old Ferrari. Can I have one? I believe that the Marvel experience creates tight knit relationships because it had never really been done before, making a cinematic universe. And everyone needed to get points on the board. Every franchise, this and that needed to work and succeed. And there was particularly a 10-ish year run where it just had this quantum effect. And I remember having this dinner party shooting in Atlanta around the time of Infinity War. It was one of the last times that you could get everybody from all the franchises together. And I just remember that as being a special night. Describe your relationship with Jon Favreau. Well, as evidenced in this picture, he cranks me up like a Model T and then I go wherever he steers me. Jon Favreau was like a brother to me. I learned so much from him. I wouldn't probably be here today unless he had had enormous faith in me to see if I could get cast in Iron Man. And at this point, we just have so much history between us. I just love calling him up. He's such an innovator. I know that it looks like he's about to sock me in the jaw right here, but sometimes familiarity breeds contempt. He can lift more weights than me, but I think if we were bare knuckle boxing, I would touch him pretty bad. Where did that come from? You nailed the Australian accent in Natural Born Killers. Try telling us what you had for breakfast today in that accent. Today I had Vegemite, eggs, bacon. Tonight, I'm standing on Highway 666, the southern beautiful strips of the American landscape. But to Mickey and Mallory Knox, we're still at large. It is literally a candy line of murder in my hand. You've said it was hard work making this film. Why? I would say the focus was so intense to the exclusion of anything that could be deemed a distraction as it needed to be. I think the subject matter, we felt the onus of getting it right. Also, Chris Nolan is so efficient, particularly with Emma and him working together and blocking for each other. So it was hard because you realized you really had to nail it as much as you could from the beginning of every day to the end of every day, which is not how I like to work. I like to f*** around indefinitely and waste the studio's valuable money. What did you like about Louis Strauss? There was very few things I didn't like about him. He was a lifelong public servant. I think he was actually a hugely principled person. And if I had to say something I dislike about him, I think that he allowed these imagined slights and petty rivalries to get the better of him, and he may or may not have informed some of the decisions he made. You've been known to wear various eyewear. How did you become an eyewear aficionado? I'm trying to take the Jack Nicholson mantle. It's up to him. If he'll relinquish it, I'll take it, and then someone will take it from me. By the second Iron Man, Bobbitt, the prop master, used to come by and just open these cases of sunglasses and eyewear and all this stuff, and I'd just be like, all of these are coming home with me. I'll wear these ones today. Tell us about how you came to be featured in Elton John's I Want Love music video. He called me. I thought it'd be great. Went to the Doheny Mansion. We shot it in one take, and I've never been more beautiful or serious in my whole life than when I did that video. I wish I could return to this moment. I mean, look at this young buck. His future is uncertain. The Sympathizer was my first TV role since Ally McBeal. What made you decide to return to TV? I didn't decide to return to TV. It was just a really cool opportunity, and I found it so compelling and different and innovative. And then director Park said, how would you feel about playing all of the white male archetypes? And then I thought, oh my God, this could be my Peter Sellers moment. Oh, I'm gonna show him this time. And it turned out okay. Whose idea was it to have your kids shave your head for The Sympathizer? It was my idea, full stop. You gotta put these little buggers to work, make them earn their keep. It's not just that they shaved my head. They then painted the back of my head to look like a pumpkin, which I thought was on point for Halloween. You've been stuck in a cabin for three years. Which three albums have you been playing over and over while you've been in there? One is Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy. The other is Rush, Subdivisions. And of course, Phil Collins, No Jacket Required. What was your favorite moment with Val Kilmer, on or off camera, while filming Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang? Every moment with Val Kilmer was a joy. He is undoubtedly one of the great actors of his generation. He's also just a fantastic artist and a amazing raconteur. We shot that entire movie at night. And if there's someone you gotta stay up all night with repeatedly for weeks and weeks on end, it's Val Kilmer. I love seeing her so much. It's a way, I think, for anyone to be able to process losing a parent. It doesn't, I'm not saying everyone should make a documentary, but just having those close interactions where you really get to talk to them and ask them about their lives. And then, yeah, I'm still kind of figuring it all out. That's been two years. It'll be two years. What's it like working alongside my wife? We just want to get along. I just trust her so implicitly that I can kind of more be myself. And I know that we're not gonna fall too far behind. Who would you rather be with than your life partner? I'm not saying you would rather be with Susan than anyone else. You, the audience member, but I would. For every great movie, there's a big press tour. Which one was the most fun and why? The first Iron Man press tour, John and I went to Korea. And then as we were working our way west, we wound up both being able to meet my gal Susan and his Mrs. Joya in Paris. And when we met our wives in Paris, it was just the best thing that's ever happened. The fun night. Steamy. Boy, this has been a huge pain in my ass. And I want to thank you for joining me with it. I'd like to thank whoever made that ramen that I had for lunch. All of the thoughtless crew members who've been checking their devices this whole time. And I also really just want to say, but I'm going to let this be, I just want to say thanks.