That was the attraction of constructing Oppenheimer with Nolan and his producing associate Emma Thomas, who, just like the Downeys, are one other husband-and-wife filmmaking duo liable to taking massive swings. “For him, Chris and Emma have simply figured that out like no person else,” Susan says.
Even their course of for casting has a no-nonsense streamline to it. “If you’re doing a Chris Nolan factor, mainly you get a cellphone name: ‘Chris needs you for this. Will you come learn the script at his home?’ ” says Susan, who joked that her husband’s curiosity clashed along with his, let’s say, extra inert tendencies. “Robert’s like, ‘Wait, I’ve to drive that far east?… Okay.’ As soon as he was keen to do this, I already knew his mindset was very open.”
The Oppenheimer group was shocked to satisfy a film star who was keen to solid off his armor. “Actually, he type of subverted all my expectations of him,” Thomas says. “We’ve usually talked about how wonderful it’d be to work with him, however we work in a really particular, pretty stripped-down means. I wasn’t certain how he was going to regulate to that means of working as a result of, if you’re an enormous film star like Robert, that isn’t essentially the way in which you’re used to working.”
However his Avengers expertise had additionally ready him for being a part of Oppenheimer’s gargantuan ensemble, one among 79 talking roles in a solid that features three greatest actor Oscar winners. Downey’s Strauss clashes repeatedly with Murphy’s Oppenheimer but additionally along with his personal aide (performed by Alden Ehrenreich) and even with Albert Einstein (Tom Conti). Fueled by a potent mixture of honest conviction and petty grievance, he instructions scene after scene of crowded public hearings, technique classes, and backroom machinations, however with out the bemused pizzazz of his Marvel alter ego. Strauss could also be a politically savvy survivor, however he’s additionally a black gap of character who doesn’t a lot fill a room as draw everybody into his personal.
As he had on his Marvel movies, Downey relished the chance to stray from best-laid plans, fastidiously mapping out a scene with filmmakers and crew solely to go rogue. “From a artistic viewpoint, he got here terribly properly ready,” Nolan says. “It’s a really sophisticated half, and he had it completely down. And he additionally had a variety of, I wouldn’t name them improvisations as a result of plenty of it was very fastidiously deliberate, however he had a variety of elaborations, issues that he wished to carry to the character, issues that he wished to check out.”
Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema would observe Downey in a room as he delivered monologues that stretched a number of pages.
“I believe he beloved that freedom to maneuver across the room and current himself with no matter power he felt like: ‘Let’s strive it once more! Let’s strive it a unique means!’ ” Nolan says. “Nevertheless heavy the 70-millimeter digital camera was, Hoyte would by no means get too drained. In a means, Robert was most likely ready for him to get drained, however he didn’t. So he was capable of actually thrash it out, actually attain for one thing and stretch himself.”
Joe and Anthony Russo, who directed Downey in three Marvel films, describe the Downey methodology in related phrases: “When he’ll come again to set, Robert is known for throwing the plan out the window and climbing on prime of the sofa and no matter, form of going off-book,” Joe says. “He does this as a result of he likes to shock himself. He likes to maintain issues contemporary. He lights up for that.”
