Oliver Stone thought Downey Jr.’s on-set antics would ruin the tone of Natural Born Killers

Last Updated on October 1, 2024

Robert Downey Jr. has the power to steal any scene he wants. Just take one look at his surprise SDCC appearance this summer and you get an idea of what we mean. But this is nothing new, and one of the best examples of this is 1994’s Natural Born Killers, in which he played Wayne Gale, the personification of exploiting criminals to the point of cult status. It’s undoubtedly one of the standout performances in Natural Born Killers (although I would pick Rodney Dangerfield’s as the most memorable), but according to Oliver Stone, he almost ruined the entire film.

By most accounts, Downey Jr. was rarely sober on the set of Natural Born Killers, but on one particular day, he happened to be completely straight. But that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t get out of control to the point of pissing off his director. In one instance, he dipped his shirt tail in fake blood and pulled it through his unzipped pants, making it his own bloody “iron man”, to which Stone responded, “Oh come on—that’s too much! You’re going too far, Robert…You’re ruining my movie! Forget the dumb dick idea. This isn’t…This isn’t some slapstick bullsh*t.” Except, anyone who has seen Natural Born Killers knows just how over-the-top it gets (even Woody Harrelson considers it a romantic comedy)…But Stone would eventually meet in the middle (or thereabouts…), telling Downey Jr. to pull the shirt tail back in half an inch.

When cameras rolled on Natural Born Killers, Downey Jr. was fresh off of an Oscar nomination for Chaplin but still had his share of troubles going on, telling Esquire (in a terrific new piece recounting the making of Natural Born Killers), “The only time I was awake…was between Action and Cut.” Woody Harrelson, who played Mickey to Juliette Lewis’ Mallory, recounted, “I don’t want to say I was the moral center on this movie, but I was the one doing the least amount of drugs! Which is—it’s never happened in my career or my life. And no one’s ever done more drugs than me, but I was Mother Teresa on this one.”

Natural Born Killers celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, so there’s really no better way to celebrate than to revisit the film and rewatch our episode of WTF Happened to This Movie?! (we know, it’s not about us…).

Are you a fan of Natural Born Killers? What is the standout scene for you?