Christopher Nolan found Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man to be “one of the most consequential casting decisions” in the film industry

The story of Robert Downey Jr.’s comeback is possibly one of the greatest in Hollywood. When he was down and out, he was a cautionary tale and a punchline, but now the Oscar contender from Oppenheimer couldn’t be any richer with an amazing legacy, legions of fans, a renewed reputation and a mountain of earnings from Marvel Studios. It was Jon Favreau’s decision to fight for Downey Jr. for the part of Tony Stark that turned out to be a Hollywood and a cultural game changer.

Ironically, while 2008’s Iron Man became a huge hit and planted the seeds for the juggernaut that is the MCU, as well as brought Downey Jr.’s career back from the dead, Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight would take over that summer. During the promotion for Oppenheimer, Nolan and Downey Jr. would show great respect for each other. Variety reports that while on Stephen Colbert, Nolan outlined what had motivated him to cast Downey Jr. in the film. Nolan explained, “I’ve always wanted to work with him. […] He has such charisma as Tony Stark. Him playing Iron Man is one of the most consequential casting decisions that’s ever been made in the history of the movie business. I wanted to give him the opportunity to lose himself in a part, lose himself in another human being the way great actors love him.”

The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker had also dug deeper by expounding, “With anybody you work with, with actors…you’re looking for some kind of connection emotionally, empathetically. You’re looking for some kind of generosity. He has this incredible generosity of spirit. It means when he’s in a scene with other people he’s making sure they are all doing their best, that they are all able to bring their best to the table. He’s helping them clarify those emotional connections.”

Although they finally found the perfect role for him, Downey Jr. once tried to pitch himself to Nolan back when he was casting for Batman Begins, and he was looking for an actor to play Dr. Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow. Nolan didn’t seem to be keen on him as Downey Jr. recalls, “I remember meeting [Nolan] for tea and I was like, ‘He doesn’t seem like he’s really in on this interview.’ And he was polite and all that. But you can tell when someone is kind of like, ‘It’s not going to go anywhere.’”