What do you get the man that has everything? Robert Downey Jr.‘s Tony Stark/Iron Man was at the core of the MCU for over a decade, with the star rumored to have made almost half a billion dollars for his work across the franchise. That haul makes him one of the highest-paid and wealthiest actors in history and if he wanted to, he could probably construct a real-life Iron Man suit and fly around in it. But there’s one thing he can’t buy: an Academy Award.
Insider Daniel Richtman is claiming this week that after achieving mainstream and financial success, Downey Jr. sees his next goal as being properly recognized for his performance skills and is gunning for an Oscar. Of course, it’s worth noting that he’s already come close to winning one twice before. He picked up a Best Actor nomination in 1992 for his lead role in Chaplin (Al Pacino won for Scent of a Woman) and a Best Supporting Actor nod in 2009 for Tropic Thunder (losing to Heath Ledger’s Joker).
Right now, he’s scheduled to appear in sports comedy All-Star Weekend and a second Sherlock Holmes sequel, neither of which scream Oscar bait. Still, it’s safe to assume his production company and agent are on the hunt for the kind of roles that impress the Academy. One wrinkle, however, is that he has a surprisingly poor record in picking projects to produce, with both 2014’s The Judge and 2020’s Dolittle failing critically and at the box office.
Still, nobody can deny Robert Downey Jr.‘s innate talent and charisma, which has been apparent ever since he burst onto the scene in early movies like Less Than Zero, Air America and Soapdish. All he needs is the right project and a director who knows how best to utilize him and awards season glory won’t be far away. Plus, you just know he’d make one hell of an acceptance speech.
