As Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. celebrated his biggest successes at the box office. They were responsible for keeping the actor on a high. It wasn’t until a big flop interrupted the streak of success and brought the Hollywood star back down to reality.
What is the situation? We are in the year 2019. Robert Downey Jr. is one of the most prominent actors from the Marvel films. Eleven years have passed since his first appearance as Iron Man, for which he wasn’t the first choice, by the way.
Downey Jr. is at the peak of his career. But then comes a big flop in 2020. Together with director Stephen Gaghan, the actor filmed the remake of “Dr. Dolittle.” The story about the veterinarian who can talk to his animal patients was already filmed in 1998 with Eddie Murphy in the lead role.
The remake was simply called “Dolittle” and was not a big success. On the contrary. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently has a 15% rating from critics. Box office success also left much to be desired. With a budget of about 175 million US dollars (via thenumbers.com), the earnings were around 251 million. That’s not enough for a success by Hollywood standards.
Here you can see the trailer for Robert Downey Jr.’s very first appearance as Iron Man in 2008:
Nevertheless, the actor is grateful to the film today
How does Robert Downey Jr. feel about Dolittle today? The big flop and the disappointment that came with it happened at the peak of Downey Jr.’s career.
In an appearance on the podcast “Literally! With Rob Lowe”, the actor spoke about that time. He felt that his “best work” in the Marvel films didn’t receive enough attention. The reason for this would be the superhero genre.
However, the Marvel films are certainly very popular. The actor admits in the podcast that he was hardly insecure regarding his self-confidence. It was only when “Dolittle” became both a commercial and artistic failure that it brought him back down to reality.
“I felt so exposed after being in the cocoon of Marvel,” said Downey Jr. He was not satisfied with his performance as Dolittle: “In a way, I did myself a favor because the ground was pulled out from under me.”
“Dolittle” simply “did not work” and was a humiliating experience that the actor urgently needed at that time. The film was, therefore, a turning point in his career. In 2019, Downey Jr. left the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Marvel chief explained why this departure will be permanent.
Instead, the actor recently celebrated success with his role in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” For his performance, he won, among other awards, the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. After a brief intermezzo, it seems that Robert Downey Jr. is on the rise again. That he brings talent and his own ideas to a project is evidenced by an improvised, now iconic line as Iron Man.
