From excerpts in Variety's spotlight on Robert Downey Jr., and him being honored the American Cinematheque Award, included are quotes from actors and directors who've had the opportunity to worth with the 'Iron Man' star. And among those people are The Avengers director Joss Whedon, 'Thor' co-star Chris Hemsworth and 'Black Widow' actress Scarlett Johansson. With a special thanks to the ever-reliable RimBreaks for the heads up, read on below.
"The Avengers" writer-helmer Joss Whedon calls the actor "electrifying, the most riveting guy on the screen. He takes such care not just with his character, but with everybody. By the time you put it all together, he's comfortable enough with the narrative that he can go in there and give you what you need. And then he can play with any variations you want to throw at him."
Whedon recalls one particular scene: "It was written very simply and Robert's like, 'Can we do more with this?' So while he was getting made up, I wrote 10 variations. He looked at them and said, 'Well, a little bit of this. A little bit of that.' After we shot it, he said, 'Are you sure you got enough? Because it wasn't cheap to fly me out here.'"
Downey co-"Avenger" Chris Hemsworth agrees. "Robert operates about 10 steps ahead of everyone else. The energy coming out of him when he's acting could power a small city, that being said, I've never felt more supported," says Hemsworth. "We finished shooting a scene together and I think he could see I was feeling uncertain about it, so he came up and said, 'Hey, I'm going to save you about 25 years of constipation and let you know that you've got it. You've ****ing got it. Now relax.' "
But for "Iron Man 2" Scarlett Johansson, it was all about that famous Downey unpredictability. "He possesses a quality that is both self-assured and off the cuff, something that is almost frighteningly exciting to work opposite," she says. "He's an enigma, a sort of verbal and emotional magician."
To check out Jon Favreau's thoughts on the actor, among others, head on over to Variety for the full must-read article!
Marvel's The Avengers is the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner with Samuel L. Jackson and Tom Hiddleston, directed by Joss Whedon, Marvel's The Avengers will be released May 4, 2012.