Marvel Television's Ironheart | Robert Downey Jr. in Conversation with Dominique Thorne

Dominique Thorne, I have seen all of the first three episodes of Ironheart. I love it. We have so much to discuss. How did this even come about? When did you even first hear about it? I first heard about this in 2020. It was the pandemic. I go back to where my parents are staying in Delaware. And about a month after being there, I get a phone call from Nate Moore. Oh, yeah. Mr. Moore. He lets me know that they want to bring the character of Ironheart to life, that they want to introduce her in Wakanda forever, with that being the lead up to this television series, and asked if I would play her. It is funny. I mean, so like a five-year arc to this. Okay. Well, some things are worth waiting for. It's mind-blowing for me. It's a beautiful full circle. I got to tell you, and I'm so grateful. In the world of Ironheart, how does Riri Williams wind up in the situation that we find her at the beginning? When we see her in Wakanda forever, she is very much in her own world. She knows that this is probably not a place where she's going to learn and grow and all of that by the traditional means. And so we see her hustling these kids for their money, doing homework, all of that. And it's not until the Wakandans come along that she realizes her work, her tinkering, has larger implications for folks beyond her. And I think it really took that entire journey for her to realize, I can impact people. I can affect the world wildly. And now she has to reckon with that. Now she has been forced to go back home. And I think it almost always takes a going back home. I don't know. It's really forced the reflection that we might be running away from. I love that. And getting booted out of MIT and then saying, yeah, but not without my tech. And then for me just watching, I see you blow out of the lobby. I think this may be the premier character in the MCU that's from Chicago. And I go, oh my God, how has it taken this long? And I love it. And it's such an important city. And it's so all over this series. These first episodes, well, the whole show wouldn't be what it is if you hadn't gone. She didn't go seeking this hero mantle at all. She wanted, she started pursuing it for very different reasons. We see in the comics that she took the name because of how she lost her best friend and her father, like a gunshot wound to the heart. And that is where this, the need and the desire to kind of cloak herself, protect herself, protect her community, where all of that came from. And that to me is super familiar with Mr. Tony Stark over there wanting to cloak the world in a suit of armor. And her, the focus is super, super, there's a nucleus there for her. It's her community, her home, it's Chicago. She's not really thinking beyond that. Now she's forced to. I love that too, because his journey really starts when one of his own weapons explodes and he gets a piece of shrapnel lodged in his heart. And now this iteration where the heart is something that is not only going home, but also this whole thing of disparity and inequity and knowing that she can only do as much as she can do. I don't want to give away too much, but they really are twin flames. And it's really fun watching in episode one, which by the way, it must've been a bear to shoot because you have to completely introduce the character. You have to quickly get through her story of how she winds it back home. And then you're introducing all these characters and your mom, Ronnie, Angie White, who's fantastic. Get in here. And I see you have this little kind of like coven of support. And then Xavier. Here again. Good morning to you too. Is that Matthew Elam? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's awesome. And then of course you are haunted and helped by Natalie. Natalie? Well, who the hell else would it be, bitch? I just want to know a little bit about an episode one. When you were doing that, were you going like, oh my God, because you run the whole gamut of an MCU film in 40 minutes. It's bananas. And it's really interesting too, because it gets more and more complicated and all happens really quick. I think of Riri Williams as kind of almost like a founder looking for a way to keep her enterprise afloat. And it's what she's done with the Ironheart suit. It's what she's hoping to do and the support she has at home. It's Xavier's a bit of a conscience, and he just reminds you of where we are from and what our values are. And when you're ready for the respect and the money you deserve, come work for me. When the hood gives you a bit of an offer you can't refuse once you're recruited and get the business card, it's this really tough thing to play, which is like, wait a minute, am I going to go over to the slightly larcenous side so I can keep doing what I need to do to be the founder and the CEO of this? I honestly really, really bought it. And I almost feel like if you hadn't been booted out of MIT, the institution of tech and learning and all that, I just think that's a really cool framing of it. But then so much more even happens just in the first episode and you're in the hood. Vital signs indicate corporeal overload. You're doing so much tech work, you're soldering, you're doing all the stuff. And again, it was just reminding me of all of those things that I had to do for the first time. So you always have suits and pieces of practical suits around you. Did you ever have like a little spot welding lesson or the person? Yes, absolutely. Oh my God. I got to tell you, it took me probably like a solid 20 minutes to get that first take in the hood down. Trevor, stabilize the cabin pressure. I need some more air. I literally could not believe that I was doing this. I felt that to me was probably the moment of like, whoa, this is real. This is Iron Man. This is Tony Stark. This is the hood. This is insane. And there's definitely BTS of it somewhere about me just losing my mind and laughing and trying to just get it together. Like, okay, this is real. Sure, I guess. So much in this first episode sets up about anxiety. This generation having to deal with anxiety of the information age. And the way you set it up is just literally got a ton of heart. And I found myself very entertained by it and wondering what was going to happen next. And then we introduced Joe McGillicuddy, who you have a reason, and I won't go through all the machinations, but you kind of have him a little bit over a barrel. If you don't work with me here, the FBI gets a call from a concerned neighbor. And you rot in federal prison. And he brings you to this place where in this silo, where there's all this tech, winds up becoming very pertinent because in episode two, I call it the Chaka Khan tunnel heist freehand sequence, which is just great. By the way, the soundtrack and the music. Chicago, come alive. It's Chicago, but I also feel Nate Moore. I also feel Ryan. I feel the Black Panther energy in this. And then there's this huge cliffhanger at the end of episode two. What do you remember about that whole sequence? Because it's very daunting. That was probably also one of the most fun scenes to shoot for the top half, because it is so high intensity and quick and fast. And we're also, this is like the first time Riri gets to just like flex what she's good at, since getting kicked out and coming back to Chicago. And, you know, this is the first time she just gets to do without any of the noise. So it was fun. It was cool. And also just getting to see, okay, like, you know, she's getting to know these people. She's sussing it out and she's enjoying herself. Okay, maybe this is not so bad. It also feels like a nice breath of fresh air before the ride that we're in for the rest of the show. But you kind of follow your less than optimum instincts into doing business with this merry band of kind of misfit thieves that are also all really just deserve a great shout out. And then by the end of episode two, it starts to get a little bit serious because there's an aggressive security guard who catches you after you've done this. Just put the gun down. And blood is drenched. And really what's interesting is that Ramos's character in The Hood, who can do all kinds of stuff, we're starting to wonder, who is this guy really? And he kind of saves your life. Yeah, I think. You're a bit indebted. So what does that do to the conflict that Riri's feeling with where her loyalties are at that point, I wonder? Yeah, I mean, from the time she meets this guy, it's like, okay, here's this incredibly charismatic man from, you know, a city that is familiar to me. He's coming from a place I know I understand. And he's saying, all of the things that I've been saying that I've been thinking about for the past, since the top of the show, you know, here, this guy comes along saying, like, why don't you have this? And why don't you have that? And don't you think that you deserve to be doing all of this? I couldn't believe that after episode two, that episode three actually gets more jazzy and out of control and hectic. And really, you're doing kind of almost a little bit of, like, cat burglar spy work. I'm noticing in that whole sequence with what's going on up on top of that, where all the action's happening, and you're having to escape. And then were you claustrophobic in that shaft that you were in when everything starts? Oh my God, that was insane. But I honestly think I was more nervous doing the little underwater swimming up to the tunnel. Wow, that was crazy. That was really what it was for me. Episode three is like your mission impossible. Yeah. There is nothing in that episode that you're underwater, you're in tunnels, you're hiding, you're sneaking, you're trying to get information. I think episode three might be my favorite episode. Wow. It says something very distinct about who Riri Williams and so Ironheart can become in the MCU. I think when we meet her, when we're introduced to her, it feels very clear, oh, this is going to be another superhero. But then we continue to get further and further into these episodes. We're like, wait, hold on. Is she? Where is this going? Even my boy Alden Ehrenreich is starting to reveal that he's kind of not who he's saying he is. It's going to lead to something. So suffice it to say, for the first three episodes of a series with really introducing a character, I got the hook, I've got the heart, the support has come out of the woodwork with this ensemble cast around you. Yes, it has. Angie White, my goodness, because that's so essential is for Riri Williams to have a solid home base. If Angie wasn't there, if the home wasn't as warm and artistic and thoughtful as it is, I don't know that we could endure all the chaos and all the spiraling that we see Riri going through. Well, I mean, look, I thought we were going to have a quick little five or seven minute break and there's so much to talk about. So now as these three episodes are going to be out and viewable, we're going to let that blow everyone's mind and then we'll check back in later, if you like, as we watch along some more. Oh man, I gotta know what you think by the end. I have to. I have to. All right, well, you keep kicking ass out there. Again, well done so far. You've really, yeah, really done us proud. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Oh my goodness, I appreciate it. All right, Dominique. Talk soon. We can make Think about the possibilities.