Joe Russo on why Robert Downey Jr. deserves an Oscar for Avengers: Endgame

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Over the years there has been a consistent disconnect between the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and audiences, as the movies that get nominated for Oscars typically tend to be ones that fare better with critics and industry people than viewers. That’s why despite the fact it’s now the biggest movie of all time, AVENGERS: ENDGAME isn’t likely to net any nominations outside of the tech categories, and director’s Joe and Anthony Russo are cool with that. That being said, they recently opened up about the movie’s place come awards season and said there’s one person who has undeniably earned themselves a major nomination: Robert Downey Jr.

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Downey kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2008 with his stellar work in IRON MAN and said goodbye to the series and the character with ENDGAME this year – and to universal acclaim. His final moments shook audiences around the world to their core, and it’s for that reason Joe Russo thinks he’s worthy of the top prize for his final work as Tony Stark/Iron Man (via The Daily Beast).

I just want to stump for one thing, and that’s Robert Downey… We don’t make movies for awards. Yes, making this was exceedingly difficult. We made the two most expensive movies ever back-to-back. But I just want to stump for one thing, and that’s Robert Downey. I don’t know if I have ever seen — in movie history — a global audience react to a performance the way they did to Robert Downey in that movie. There were people bawling in movie theaters, hyperventilating. I mean, that is a profound performance, when you can touch audiences all over the world to that degree. We’ve never seen anything like that, and if that doesn’t deserve an Oscar, I don’t know what does.

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Even though they make up some of the highest-grossing movies on the market, on top of earning great reviews in the process in some cases, comic book movies are often overlooked come awards season. Oscar voters have seemingly started to open up the gates to them over the years, with LOGAN earning a screenplay nomination and BLACK PANTHER being nominated for Best Picture this year, and winning several Oscars on the night. It's because of this why ENDGAME *might* have a *small* chance of securing some major nominations. 

On that note, Downey does have the best chance of landing a top-level nomination, moreso than it earning a BP nomination. Critics raved about his work in the movie, saying the actor did a masterful, heartbreaking job of bringing the character full circle and proving why he's resonated with audiences as Stark for over a decade. Should he land some nominations through smaller organizations as awards season goes on Downey could end up securing himself his third career nomination (previously for CHAPLIN and TROPIC THUNDER), which would double as acknowledging his work in crafting one of the most iconic movie heroes over the course of a decade. If Academy members need any examples (as if they haven't seen the movie), then they only need watch the above clip.