Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo discussed their roles in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ and Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘Poor Things’ respectively. They reflected on the days when they were part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. RDJ also mentioned how his Marvel character helped him in his preparation of ‘Oppenheimer’.

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Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo, came together for a conversation about their roles in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ and Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘Poor Things’ during Variety’s ‘Actors on Actors’ studio. They reflected on their time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, admitting that they sometimes didn’t understand their characters’ dialogues. Robert also said that his role as Iron Man helped him in preparing for ‘Oppenheimer’.

ROBERT DOWNEY JR SAYS HIS ROLE IN MCU HELPED HIM IN ‘OPPENHEIMER’

The recent ‘Actors on Actors’ segment by Variety was graced by Hollywood legends Robert Downey Jr and Mark Ruffalo. Mark shared his initial doubts about being cast in Marvel films, while Robert Downey Jr discussed how their Marvel experiences helped them in their current roles. “It was such a different world. They didn’t really cast people like us. I’ll never forget, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m right for this.’ And you’re like, ‘Come on, Ruffalo, we got this,” said Mark.

Robert then added, “Well, I mean, in the Marvel days, everything might change or we’re talking to a tennis ball. You and I, the science bros, we would’ve these long passages about absolute gobbledygook. But still it’s important to us because we know it’s important to the characters.”

Downey Jr. revealed how his role in Oppenheimer brought him joy and a renewed appreciation for film over digital. “Yeah, it’d be really hard to dig in. I mean, we would just drive each other insane on set going, why can’t I retain this? But again, we know when it’s time to tighten things up a little bit. Anyway, I found great joy in [making Oppenheimer]. It was this moment where we were shooting something in Pasadena and Nolan just put this mag of 70 millimeter [film] — they were changing out mags, and he was like, ‘Hold this.’ And he just put it on my lap. Yeah, I will continue to love and I’m happy to eventually in some way reengage with sci-fi fantasy. It’s got its own upside, ” Robert said.