Christopher Nolan Explains Why Robert Downey Jr. Lost Out on ‘Batman Begins’ Role

Christopher Nolan finally explained to Robert Downey Jr. why he turned the actor down for a pivotal role in Batman Begins (2005), admitting that he was previously “afraid” of the troubled star during a joint interview with The New York Times.

Nolan and Downey would work together nearly 20 years later on Oppenheimer, which has seen both nominated for Oscars in their respective categories. But when they first met in the early 2000s, each was at radically different stages of their careers. Nolan was embarking upon his first major studio film after working in indies, while Downey was trying to mount a comeback after years of substance abuse and legal issues.

Downey recalled his “thoughtful yet gratuitous” meeting with Nolan in the lobby of a hotel, painfully aware he wasn’t going to get the role. When he told Nolan this, the director didn’t mince words. “I 100 percent knew you weren’t the guy. In my head that was already cast. But I always wanted to meet you,” the director enthused. However, Nolan politely declined to answer when Downey asked why he didn't get the role.

While the director admitted to be “a huge admirer” of Downey’s going back many years, he was nervous to cast the actor because of the press regarding his personal life. From 1996 through 2001, Downey was arrested multiple times for drug offenses and was incarcerated for a year at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison. When Nolan was casting Batman Begins, Downey was just beginning his reentry into Hollywood.

“I was also a little afraid of you. I had heard all kinds of stories about how you were crazy,” Nolan admitted to the actor. “It was only a few years after the last of those stories that had come out about you.”

When NYT asked Nolan how he got over his “misgivings” about casting Downey, the actor joked, “You let 10 or 12 years pass and watch the news cycle.”

“Exactly,” Nolan responded. “Let [Iron Man director] Jon Favreau take a huge risk, and there you go.”

Favreau and others at Marvel have discussed the tough process of casting Downey as Tony Stark in the 2008 film. Due to his track record, it wasn’t a sure thing the studio could even get insurance with him as the film’s star.

"Robert Downey, Jr., at that point in his career, wasn't necessarily a 'family-friendly' name," Marvel Studios casting director Sarah Finn revealed in an Avengers: Endgame documentary (via Comic Book). "He wasn't instantly a slam-dunk approval.”

Nolan praised Favreau for pushing the studio to hire Downey when no one else wanted to. “The truth is, I think Jon Favreau casting Robert as Tony Stark is one of the most significant and consequential casting decisions in Hollywood history,” Nolan said. “It wound up defining our industry. And it’s one of those where, in retrospect, everybody thinks it was obvious. But he took an enormous risk casting you in that role.”

Oppenheimer begins streaming on Peacock on February 16.