(Bauer Griffin)
Robert Downey Jr. had the last laugh on Hollywood naysayers when he landed the box office blockbuster
Zimbio: We think of Sherlock Holmes as a guy with a pipe and a hat. How do you make him badass?
Robert Downey, Jr.: Part of what’s been really interesting about this process is realizing that so many misconceptions were accepted as the real Sherlock Holmes. In fact, there’s no basis for that when you really go to the source material, at all. Just think about how things are going to get misinterpreted between now and the end of the day. Try 122 years. He had a pipe but it wasn’t curved down around. That was from theater so it didn’t obscure the actor’s face when he was doing Sherlock Holmes on stage. He never wore a deerstalker cap except maybe once for a minute, but even then it was described differently. Even those things aren't really quite accurate.
Robert Downey, Jr. on the set of Sherlock Holmes.
(Bauer Griffin)
Zimbio: But this doesn’t look like a stodgy, faithful British version of Sherlock Holmes.
Robert Downey, Jr.: We just went back as much as we could, without wanting to be reverent beyond repair to how Arthur Conan Doyle explained the characters. I really do think Doyle was an amazing, amazing writer and storyteller. I didn't really quite know how great he was until we kept reaching out to find quotes and things he had said. He had really philosophical points of view that Doyle expressed through Watson and Holmes.
Zimbio: Was it your decision to make your Sherlock a ripped hunk for shirtless scenes?
Robert Downey, Jr: Here’s what happened. I was in Japan promoting Iron Man and I went to Iron Chef restaurant. I contracted a parasite and I ran with it. I got really sick for three days and I started losing weight and I thought, “Hey, this is a nice jump-start!” No-one ever tells you in Weight Watchers like, “Contract a parasite in Japan and then run with it!” They say, “Starve yourself and be miserable and work out too much.” It just gave me a little nice head-start with the first five pounds and then I kept going until I was so thin, I felt as though I may float away and give people tours of the local area from 500 feet up.
Zimbio: Is there some stiff competition for hottie on the set because Jude Law is Dr. Watson?
Robert Downey, Jr.: By the way, Guy Ritchie typically on set would be like, “You’re alright with that take, Hotson?” And everyone would be like, “Who’s Hotson?” And he’d go, “Well, he’s the hot Watson.” He is so the right arm of this movie. He wanted to go do something undeniably legitimate, so he's doing Hamlet right now. But we, of course, say, “Hamlet, anyone can do that.” He was a huge part of this movie working.
Zimbio: They’re the original bromance.
Robert Downey, Jr.: That's what we really felt. Doyle was giving us the first look at what was essentially a two-hander and Doyle essentially is Watson because he's telling the stories. So the process with Jude really was, we met at Claridge’s hotel in London. So he walks down the hall and my assistant, who never cares about anything, is like standing in the hall. She's like, “Oh my God, there he is!” And, he walks down the hall and, you know, he's dressed in that fabulous, super expensive, underdressed way, and I just said, “Dude…” Before he said he was going to do the movie, before he said he was available, before he said that he didn’t want to be quoted, we just started talking like two serious actors about what would need to happen to make this work as a piece of straight drama. I think we just became really close really quick because we just rolled up our sleeves and started working from jump.
Zimbio: How much fun did you have playing Tony Stark again?
Robert Downey, Jr.: The confidence was higher, but fun was not necessarily the word I would use to describe it. We felt more responsible to spend more time, and we had broadened our cast and horizons. The story is actually significantly more complex and subtle, while you can still follow it. I don’t want to say that it was as fun. It flew by, which was also odd, because we felt every punch, moment, laugh and everything last time. It was a really, really, really trying process to get this done to the best of our ability.
Zimbio: Was the suit any easier this time?
Robert Downey, Jr.: Yeah, it was a little easier. Not enough for my taste.
Zimbio: How is Tony Stark different this time around, now that he’s admitted he’s Iron Man?
Robert Downey, Jr.: Last time, we saw him as this hapless, charming prick who has his ass handed to him, and turns it around and then is almost snuffed by the very person he thought he could trust above everyone else. To dial it back a little bit, you have to imagine that just because someone has a life-changing experience doesn’t really mean they’ve changed. Tony is seeking solace in the archetype. It’s one thing to say you’re Iron Man and it’s another thing to actually be a righteous person. I think he struggles with that because he’s not really all that different.
Zimbio: If Sherlock takes off, can you imagine having two franchises going at the same time?
Robert Downey, Jr.: That’s the plan, but here’s the thing: I wouldn’t be here if Iron Man hadn’t surprised everyone, including ourselves, and become a big hit movie. Despite my 25-year on-going relationship with Joel Silver from my first studio film, Weird Science from 1984, it’s not like he would have said, “You know what? Let’s give you a shot at that . . .” So everything is fed by everything else.
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