After films like ‘Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang’ and ‘Zodiac’, ‘Iron Man’ was the highlight of a comeback tour for Robert Downey Jr.. After that, the actor, long shunned due to drug problems, was a superstar again. The rest is history. But in an interview he described it as one of the two most important films of the past 25 years a completely different work from that comeback era: “Shaggy Dog – Listen to Who’s Barking”.
Major Movie No. 1: “Shaggy Dog”
The 2006 Disney comedy stars Tim Allen as a prosecutor who turns into a dog. Robert Downey Jr. can be seen as the annoying scientist responsible for this. Shot on a budget of $50 million, the film failed to meet expectations and grossed $87 million worldwide. But for Downey Jr. it is still one of the two most important films of the past 25 years.
Because ‘Shaggy Dog’ proved to Disney that Robert Downey Jr. can rest easy again. Due to the actor’s drug history, this was probably not possible before or was too expensive – after all, no insurance company wanted to risk suddenly having to pay huge sums because an important actor was no longer available after a relapse. Without ‘Shaggy Dog’ and proof that the superstar is insurable, Disney would have lost Downey Jr. probably never made it into the MCU as Iron Man.
Important Movie No. 2: “The Fantastic Journey of Dr. Dolittle”
The star mentioned the second important film in an interview with Despite raking in $251 million on a $175 million budget, it was considered a massive mega-flop “The fantastic journey of Dr. Dolittle“a ‘two and a half year wound of missed opportunities’.
Downey Jr. self-produced the film as his first major project after the end of his MCU career with his wife Susan – and the experience shaped him. The stress his wife went through to somehow get the film released was shocking. The film caused them to reassess their priorities and make some changes with their closest business advisors.
Downey Jr. is currently considered a hot Oscar candidate for his role as Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s biopic “Oppenheimer.” He already received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor!