After winning the best supporting actor BAFTA for his performance in “Oppenheimer,” Robert Downey Jr. took to the stage to reflect on his career and shout out “that dude” Christopher Nolan.
“When I was 15, I wanted to be Peter O’Toole. When I was 25, I worked for Richard Attenbourgh and Anthony Hopkins. When I was 35, I finally understood why Dickie thought Tony would be a better role model for me than Peter,” Downey Jr. said. “When I was 42, I did two films for Guy Ritchie and learned how to make big Hollywood movies with a civil British flare. I then played a guy named Tony in the MCU for about 12 years.”
He continued, “And then recently, that dude Chris Nolan suggested I attempt an understated approach as a last-ditch effort to perhaps resurrect my dwindling credibility. So I share this with my fellow nominees, this has been an exceptional year.”
In Nolan’s epic biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, who created of the world’s first atomic bomb, Downey Jr. played Lewis Strauss, a high-ranking member of the U.S Atomic Energy Commission who became hostile to Oppenheimer and sought to prove he was disloyal to the U.S.
Downey Jr. had previously won the best actor BAFTA for “Chaplin” back in 1992, and was nominated for best supporting actor in 2009 for “Tropic Thunder.”
Downey Jr. was up against Robert De Niro for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Jacob Elordi for “Saltburn,” Ryan Gosling for “Barbie,” Paul Mescal for “All of Us Strangers” and Dominic Sessa for “The Holdovers.”
