**Robert Downey Jr. Turned Down An Oscar-Winning Sci-Fi Film Following Iron Man**
Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” is not just one of the sci-fi films endorsed by Neil deGrasse Tyson, but it also enjoyed tremendous popularity with the general audience. The film secured seven Oscars out of 10 nominations, including Best Director, Cinematography, and Visual Effects, grossing nearly $725 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo). The plot revolves around two astronauts who face debris during a mission and must devise a plan to survive and return to Earth. Sandra Bullock (Ryan Stone) and George Clooney (Matt Kowalski) headline the film. Initially, however, Cuarón had a different pair in mind for the project.
Robert Downey Jr. was first approached to co-star in “Gravity” alongside Angelina Jolie. While “Gravity” was released on August 28, 2013, Cuarón filmed the project in 2011. At that time, Marvel was busy producing “The Avengers,” the inaugural crossover movie for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Robert Downey Jr. played a pivotal role in this film after establishing himself as the face of the still-nascent MCU in “Iron Man” (2008), the movie that launched Marvel’s universe, with RDJ’s portrayal being crucial to that triumph. The sequel, “Iron Man 2,” debuted in 2010, a year preceding the commencement of “Gravity.”
The actor would have needed to balance both Cuarón’s film and the first “Avengers” outing if all parties had permitted him to shoot both concurrently. However, the conflicting schedules were not the primary reason Downey Jr. declined the role of Matt Kowalski. The actor clarified in a conversation on The Howard Stern Show, years after “Gravity’s” release, that the real challenge lay in the limitations of filming the space movie as Cuarón envisioned.
**RDJ on Being Comfortably Uncomfortable**
“Everyone ends up doing what they’re meant to do, and sometimes, someone has a motorcycle accident, and then the person who takes over the role [nails it], and you think, ‘I couldn’t have pictured anyone else in that role,'” RDJ shared with Stern in an interview in October 2022. He noted he was brought on board early in the project, even before Jolie was cast. He connected well with Cuarón and appreciated the concept. Stern pointed out that Downey Jr. had previously mentioned his inability to work within the cramped confines required by the “Gravity” sets. It was then that the actor elaborated on the filming experiences Cuarón was seeking, which he found uncomfortable.
“What I can let you know is I went in to do a test with a new kind of multi-spherical camera setup they were experimenting with for the CGI,” RDJ remembered. “I’m the type of person who can be comfortably uncomfortable pretty easily. I went in the morning to do that testing, and we lasted about 20 minutes. I asked, ‘This is insane; how much longer will it be?’ They replied, ‘It’ll be another two to four hours.’ I said, ‘No way!'” The actor further mentioned, “You’ve got to set boundaries. You’ve got to exit before you lose it,” implying that claustrophobia might have played a significant role in his decision to walk away from the sci-fi film.
**Cuarón Confirms RDJ Would Not Have Thrived in Gravity**
In a separate instance, Cuarón recounted a similar narrative to The Hollywood Reporter in 2014, discussing Downey Jr.’s withdrawal from the film, though the director provided less context than the actor did during his conversation with Stern. “It became increasingly clear that, as we started to hone the technology, that was going to be a significant hurdle for his performance,” the director explained. “I find Robert to be incredible if you grant him the latitude to fully breathe, improvise, and adapt. [However] we experimented with one of these technologies, and it just wasn’t suitable. After that, we [went through] a week pretending nothing was amiss, and then we conversed and concluded, ‘This won’t work. This is challenging.'”
Stern inquired if RDJ would have participated in the movie had he known that “Gravity” would explode in popularity and that he could earn the $70 million Clooney did, but the actor remained firm in his choice. “Any one of us can get something, but we can’t have everything,” RDJ finished.
Bullock received a nomination for Best Actress, ultimately losing to Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”), while Clooney did not receive a nomination for Best Actor. After passing on “Gravity,” Downey Jr. went on to star in numerous MCU blockbusters, including several sequels in the “Avengers” series. He will still be featured
