Three times a charm for Robert Downey Jr. who finally won an Oscar on this third nomination tonight for his turn as Lewis Strauss, the hostile United States Atomic Energy Commissioner in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Ever the wonderful wisenheimer, Downey Jr, beamed, “I’d like to thank my terrible childood and the Academy — in that order.”
Giving a big shoutout to his producer wife, Susan Downey, err “veterinarian,” the Iron Man thespian heralded, “She found me as a snarling rescue pet and loved me back to life. That’s why I’m here, thank you.”
“Here’s my little secret, I needed this job more than it needed me. Chris (Nolan) knew it, Emma (Thomas) made sure she surrounded me with one of the great casts and crews of all time –Emily, Cillian, Matt Damon, Blunt—it was fantastic and I stand here a before you a better man because of it,” said Downey, Jr.
“What we do is meaningful, and the stuff we decide to make is important,” the actor continued.
“Back to my publicist, my agent Phillip Raskind, and Andrew Dunlap, and my den mother, Joy Fehily, thank you very much. I’m going to thank my stylist in case no one else does. Thanks, Erika, thank you very much. And I’m just going to say this, my entertainment lawyer, Tom Hansen, of 40 years, half of which he tried getting me insured and bailing me out of the hoosegow – thanks Bro!”
From the minute Universal’s Oppenheimer hit the screen back in July, buzz for Downey Jr.’s nuanced, complicated turn as the foe to J. Robert Oppenheimer has been on the lips of several awards journalists and members.
Downey Jr. has won every major award leading up to tonight in the Best Supporting Actor category for Oppenheimer including the BAFTA, Golden Globe, SAG Award and Critics Choice.
The Saturday Night Live alum notched his first Oscar nom back in 1993 in the Best Actor slot for Richard Attenborough’s Chaplin, Downey Jr. having played the title role. He was also nominated in 2009 for the Ben Stiller directed comedy, Tropic Thunder.
