The Robert Downey Jr role almost played by Johnny Depp
Long before Robert Downey Jr became immortalised forever as Tony Stark/Iron Man, and even before he found himself in trouble with the law in the 1990s and 2000s, the actor snagged a ‘Best Actor’ Academy Award nomination for 1992’s Chaplin. Then, when Downey was only 27 years old, he threw himself into playing the silent film legend. Interestingly, though, Downey Jr reportedly wasn’t the studio’s first choice for the part. Or their second. Or even their third.
In December 1992, Downey admitted to The Los Angeles Times, “I know I was not the studio’s dream to play Chaplin. There are five or six people I can think of, without actually naming them, who would have been considered more viable for this role.” Indeed, the film’s financiers reportedly tried very hard to convince director Richard Attenborough to cast Robin Williams or Billy Crystal, and there were even rumours that Jim Carrey was in the mix, too.
One of the actors who was definitely shortlisted for the part at the time was none other than Johnny Depp. According to Film Review, thanks to the likes of Benny & Joon and Edward Scissorhands, Depp was seen as Hollywood’s favourite young “oddball”. He even met with Attenborough to discuss playing the part. However, Depp confessed: “I knew right from the start that I wasn’t right for the role. Not physically right, I mean. Robert was the perfect choice. He kind of looks like Chaplin. And he’s built more like him.”
In the end, Attenborough went to bat for Downey, and it meant a lot to the young actor, who truly believed he was “supposed” to play Chaplin. He told the Times, “I’ve never had anyone back me the way Attenborough did, and I’m so proud that I made the film without having a real nervous breakdown. But I know that he – Chaplin – also had a hand in this, that somehow he and I are connected. You don’t do something like this where his spirit doesn’t check in.”
In truth, the process of becoming Chaplin was gruelling, and Downey studied extremely hard with choreographer Dan Kamin to nail down the man’s unique physical movements. In 1993, Kamin told The New York Times that he had to spend ten weeks breaking down Downey’s more modern posture and ways of moving, before he built him up again into Chaplin.
Kamin said: “Robert moves like a modern guy – sort of slouchy. Chaplin was very 19th century – very aligned, economical – but also quite loose. We worked on how to sit, how to lift a spoon, everything.”
It’s often believed that Chaplin’s walk was an amusing waddle, but in fact, Kamin revealed he would actually glide, with almost no movement in his torso. He explained, “The secret is that when Chaplin walks, the hip goes with the leg when it moves, so his lower body creates that momentum.”
This was incredibly difficult for Downey to master, but thankfully, he finally got it right the night before the shooting was scheduled to begin. In the end, all the hard work was worth it.
