The actor is part of Oppenheimer, the most nominated film for the next edition of the Oscars.
It’s known that Cillian Murphy auditioned for the role of Bruce Wayne in the trilogy batman of Christopher Nolan, only to land the role of the villain, Dr. Jonathan Crane, aka the Scarecrow. That, in turn, led Nolan to give Murphy the lead role in Oppenheimer last year, which could end up giving Murphy his first Oscar. But that failed Batman audition has an unexpected protagonist: Robert Downey Jr.
In a new interview, Downey, Murphy’s Oppenheimer co-star, revealed that he met with Nolan for the role of Scarecrow but lost out to Murphy.
In a video shared by Griffin Schiller on Nolan didn’t feel like casting him in the role. He said: “And then I remember meeting him for tea and thinking: he doesn’t seem like he’s really interested in this interview.. And he was polite and all that, but he shows when someone says he’s not going anywhere.”
Does Robert Downey Jr. regret missing Batman Begins?
History showed that the decision was the best for all parties. Downey had immense success as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and became the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, while Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is considered the best comic book adaptation in history. Murphy and Downey shine together on screen in their brief scenes together in Oppenheimer (their characters have clearly different arcs) and no one will complain about decisions made 20 years ago.
Oppenheimer stars Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, and he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 96th Academy Awards for his performance in the film. Downey is considered the clear favorite to take home his first statuette. Oppenheimer was nominated for a total of 13 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Nolan’s work on the film, and is considered the favorite to take home those awards.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
