Robert Downey Jr. is not here to talk about the past. Not in an attempt to deny embarrassing, incriminating misdeeds, as Mark McGwire infamously did in a 2007 hearing before a Congressional panel. But because a reporter for Britain’s Channel 4 News tried to ask him about his personal life during a promotional interview for Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy began the conversation asking about Downey’s portrayal of Iron Man and what he identified with in a character like Tony Stark. He eventually got to a question that came up frequently when Iron Man was released in 2008: What are the parallels between Stark and Downey? And as the hero becomes a better man in the Marvel films, has the actor also become a better man in his personal life?
That’s when Downey got uncomfortable, as you can see for yourself at the 3:44 mark of this video.
What really appeared to set Downey on edge was Guru-Murthy bringing up a quote from this 2008 New York Times article, in which the actor said that going from a $2,000-a-night hotel suite to a prison cell changed his political views. So they’re not talking about Iron Man and Ultron anymore.
As the reporter continued down that path, asking whether Downey considered himself a liberal anymore, the actor bristled at trying to having his political leanings defined, explaining that what he said was his view on that particular day eight years ago and opinions can change. But once it became clear that Guru-Murthy wanted to pry into personal matters, that’s where Downey cut it off, eventually saying “It’s just getting a little Diane Sawyer in here.”
So was Guru-Murthy out of line going outside the boundaries of an interview set up to promote a movie? Or was he entitled to dig for something different from the canned stories and anecdotes that often result from such junkets? I certainly understand wanting a more substantial conversation that typically results from a celebrity interview. But the line of questioning could also arguably be seen as kind of an ambush. Or was Downey just being oversensitive? Neither side really looks good here.
