The first time Robert Downey Jr. really showed what he could do came in 1992, when he portrayed the legendary Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin. Playing these real life characters is often thought of as a home run for actors, a part that is sure to attract enough attention to pretty much guarantee awards consideration. And so it’s tempting to think that the Academy Award nomination Downey received for becoming Chaplin was predictable and not worth a huge amount of respect.
But the intensified attention can also magnify the pressure of a role like this, and we’ve seen plenty of actors fail to connect with audiences or to communicate a historical figure effectively enough to earn praise. It’s indeed a high risk, high reward situation. In Downey’s case, he was able to pull off a pretty remarkable transformation, embodying both the elder version of Chaplin the man as well as the iconic character of the Tramp for which Chaplin is known best. It has to be considered one of the greatest biopic performances in movies, and it’s hard to imagine Robert Downey Jr., having established a persona so iconic by now, being able to disappear into another icon like Charlie Chaplin today. But it would be fun to see him try something like this again.
Continue reading on the next page…
