Robert Downey Jr praises Margot Robbie’s ‘Barbie’ performance
Robert Downey Jr has opened up on his thoughts on Margot Robbie’s acting performance in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie and claimed she isn’t getting the credit she deserves.
Speaking in a SAG-AFTRA interview alongside Willem Dafoe and Sterling K. Brown, Downey Jr was asked to name actors who aren’t praised enough for their abilities to pour emotion into their roles, no matter the movie.
The actor began by saying: “It never fails to impress and remind me how little you need to do to be effective. Just the simplest version of expression, that’s what the camera wants. The closer the camera gets, the more it wants it. Time and time again, it’s demonstrated that it’s super effective.”
Downey Jr then turned his attention to Robbie’s effort in Barbie, in which she plays the iconic doll. His comments arrived after Robbie was snubbed at the Academy Awards, starkly missing from the ‘Best Actress’ category.
“Margot Robbie is not getting enough credit, in my opinion,” Downey Jr said. “America [Ferrera] has this amazing speech. And by the way she nails it! I’m watching it and go, ‘Wow, that was a really tough one. That’s like a one act play. The whole movie hinges on it.’ But it’s the cuts away to Robbie so actively listening that I realize Greta is really on to something here.”
He added, “But it’s Robbie who had to trust … and it’s hard when someone who has the fucking two-page passage and they go, ‘Ok now let’s jump in and get Bob,’ and you’re like, ‘I’ve been listening to this all day and now I have to make it work!’”
Barbie was nominated for eight Oscars, including ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’, ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for Ryan Gosling, and ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for America Ferrara.
In a four-and-a-half star review of Barbie, Far Out said: “This is certainly not merely a film to watch only once, to laugh and sing along to, and be done with. In fact, Barbie may just accomplish the greatest of all art’s tasks, and incite change. Don’t be fooled by her hype or her history; Barbie is an essential piece of cinema for the modern age.”
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