By: Scott Johnson on January 30, 2013
In the third part of a five part interview with Entertainment Weekly, Robert Downey Jr. weighs in on one of the most prestigious actors to join the Iron Man franchise. Just like we’ve heard from others in the past, Robert Downey Jr. has high praise for the Ben Kingsley’s performance in Iron Man 3, calling it “frightening to witness,” but meant in a good way.
Robert Downey Jr. said, “Sir Ben is probably going to steal the movie. There are a lot of contenders who may, but right now he’s probably at the top of that list. He came in as, obviously – speaking of training – as such a technically proficient instrument. And then what proceeded to happen was the release of more vintage, old-school Favreau [improv] stuff with a Shane Black twist on it. It was kind of frightening to witness, I’ll tell you that much.”
Besides being impressed with Kingsley’s performance as The Mandarin, Robert Downey Jr. also bonded with his co-star off the set. The two actors had a mutual friend in Lord Attenborough, and they posed for pictures in front of the Vizcaya Museum together to send to their friend.
It also turns out that Robert Downey Jr.’s well-reported set injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Robert Downey Jr. said, “As you know, I busted my ankle [in August] and we shut down for a little while, and it ended up being great for us. It was the first time [on any movie] in my personal history we got the creative luxury of being able to stop about two-thirds of the way through and really recalibrate everything and prepare for all of the hurdles ahead. And the mainstay of the Ben/Mandarin was kind of up next and straight away throughout, and then lots of Rhodey stuff and lots of fight stuff.”
Downey Jr. also added that the insurance company had to pay out a ghastly claim because of the delay in production over his ankle injury. Iron Man is set to be released in theaters in the United States on May 3, 2013.
