It's no secret that Robert Downey Jr. was in a bad place before Iron Man. Addictions to cocaine and heroin, jail, suicidal tendencies — he pretty much hit rock bottom.
Then, after starring in the first of Marvel's Cinematic Universe films, Downey was everywhere. Suddenly, it didn't matter where the actor had come from; the only thing that really mattered was what he was going to do moving forward. The success of Iron Man only continued to grow, and before long, Downey was involved in a consistent, multi-film universe with no signs of slowing down.
Considering how much his life has turned around, it's understandable that Downey doesn't want to revisit the past. This couldn't have been more evident than when, in the middle of an interview, the actor simply stood up and walked out after being asked about the darker times in his life.
During a promotional interview for the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron release, Downey sat down with Channel 4 News' Krishnan Guru-Murthy to discuss a number of topics surrounding the film. Much of the interview is directly tied to the movie itself: Downey's view of Tony Stark, his portrayal of the character, what it's like to work with such a big ensemble and so on. It's not a terrible, berating interview by any means — and for the first few minutes, everything seems to be going smoothly.
However, things start to go wrong as soon as the subject shifts to a quote Downey made back in 2008. It's clear that Downey is uncomfortable, and it's easy to see why: instead of talking about the actor's latest movie, the interviewer suddenly starts to question Downey's political views from nearly seven years ago. If anything, Downey handled it well: instead of trying to defend his opinions or change the meaning of what he said, Downey simply shrugs it off and says:
"...that just happened to be my opinion. That's the nice thing, is you can have opinions, and they kind of change and flow."
From here, the interview only grows more and more uncomfortable. The interviewer tries to continue asking Downey about his past, including the relationship between Downey and his father, past drug addictions, and the generally terrible nature of the time before Iron Man. It's here that Downey simply smiles, stands up and walks out. A few moments later, his microphone is unhooked and the interview is over.
Was getting up and walking out the best response? Probably not: it doesn't exactly speak well of Downey's personality, regardless of whether or not it was justified. That being said, his reaction is at least understandable: the topic shifts away from the film that Downey is clearly trying to promote, to a forced discussion of outdated political opinions and a past that he clearly doesn't want to talk about.
If one thing's for certain, it's that Channel 4 probably won't be getting any one-on-one time with Downey any time soon.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters on May 1.
Photo: Gage Skidmore | Flickr
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