Robert Downey Jr. Weighs in on Not Earning Oscar Nominations for Marvel Films

Robert Downey Jr.’s work portraying Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is, for many, one of the absolute best parts of the entire franchise. For years — over a decade even — fans have been hoping to see the actor get an Academy Award nod for the role and not just because they’re big fans of the character. Downey’s performances as Tony Stark are first rate. Despite this, while Downey has been nominated twice before for other films (a Best Actor nomination for 1993’s Chaplin and a Best Supporting Actor nomination for 2009’s Tropic Thunder), he hasn’t been for any of his MCU roles and it seems like the actor is fine with that.

Downey appeared on The Howard Stern Show on Monday morning and one of the topics that Stern brought up was the fact that the actor hasn’t been nominated for his Tony Stark role. Howard was of the opinion that he deserves it for various reasons including the believability of the character, but while Downey explained that he generally agrees very much with Stern’s opinions, he revealed that he didn’t necessarily want to be included in the “for your consideration” campaign.

“I’m so glad you brought this up because there was some talk about and I said let’s not and because I’m much more like you than you might really want to believe,” Downey said. “I listen to the show and I agree with most all of your opinions, varied though they may be. Occasionally, you’ll go on some tributary trail of thought I’ll go like ‘oh that’s not how I see it, but I love that you see it that way.’”

While Downey may himself be okay with not being nominated or even considered for nomination, fans are not. A Change.org petition was recently started by Diana Whatley pushing for the actor’s recognition at the Oscars for the Best Actor Award. The campaign was begun months ago, but since Disney’s official award push did not include Downey, it’s picked up some steam again.

“We, the undersigned, were so moved by Mr. Robert Downey Jr.‘s performance as Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame that we believe he is unquestionably deserving of the Academy’s Award for Best Actor. The creative choices he made and immense depth of emotional energy he infused in Tony Stark forged an unforgettable experience for the viewers,” the petition reads.

Downey’s rather relaxed take about the Academy Award situation wasn’t the only interesting comment the actor made during his appearance on The Howard Stern show, either. He also weighed in on Martin Scorsese’s comments on Marvel movies.

“I’ll tell you the truth,” Downey started. “I didn’t expect it [the Marvel Cinematic Universe] to become what it became, and it is this very large, multi-headed Hydra at this point. I’ve always had other interests and according to Scorsese, it’s not cinema so I have to take a look at that, you know?”

Stern jumped at the chance to ask the actor about his opinion on the comments, even though Downey appeared to say the last part in jest.

“It’s his opinion,” continued Downey. “I mean it plays in theaters. I appreciate his opinion because I think it’s like anything. We need all of the different perspectives so we can come to center and move on.”

Upcoming MCU films include Black Widow on May 1, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Fall 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision is set to hit Disney+ Spring 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, What If…? in Summer 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, and Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021, and Black Panther 2 on May 6, 2022. Marvel Studios Disney+ series without release dates include Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk.

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