Few actors have had a career filled with such incredible highs and lows as Robert Downey Jr. After landing an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1993, at the age of just 28, the actor infamously fell from grace for around about a decade due to his substance abuse and subsequent legal problems.
And then, in 2008, came the MCU, with Downey’s casting in Iron Man and ultimate role as the father of the biggest movie franchise in the world transforming him into perhaps the biggest movie star in the world too. The now-58-year-old’s career then took another turn once he said goodbye to Tony Stark in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, and he hasn’t returned to the Marvel multiverse since.
With Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirming that Downey is unlikely to make a comeback as the Armored Avenger any time soon, some may be wondering if this means he’s retired from moviemaking altogether. So let’s clear that up.
Is Robert Downey Jr. retiring from acting in any way?
As far as we are aware, Downey devotees, you have nothing to worry about as the actor has made no such announcement that he’s retiring in any way, shape, or form. Exactly why some are worrying about this in the first place is peculiar, given that Downey just recently appeared in one of the most popular releases of 2023 — Christopher Nolan’s epic biopic Oppenheimer.
To be fair, Downey was somewhat unrecognizable in the film, as he shaved his head and donned a white wig for the part of Lewiss Strauss. This was also the first time since 2014’s Chef that he hasn’t played the lead in his latest movie — well, there was also 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming but he kinda stole the show in that, anyway. This isn’t necessarily the shape of things to come, though, as Downey is due to lead his next feature-length project.
Downey will co-star opposite Amy Adams in Average Height, Average Build, the latest star-studded black comedy from Don’t Look Up‘s Adam McKay that’s headed to Netflix. In addition, he’s set to appear in dramedy miniseries The Sympathizer for HBO. Plus, he’s still cooking up the long-awaited Sherlock Holmes 3 in the background.
In other words, Downey may not be Iron Man these days, but he’s still as much of an on-screen superhero as he ever was.
