Robert Downey Jr. Interview: ‘Avengers’ Actor Says ‘Should Have Walked Out Sooner’
That Robert Downey Jr. interview could have ended much sooner, according to the Avengers: Age of Ultron star. The actor said he wishes he would have walked out of the infamous TV interview earlier.
During a visit to radio talk-show host, Howard Stern, Downey Jr. said he had no regrets for walking out on British Channel 4 host Krishnan Guru-Murthy’s interview, after his questions turned a little too personal for the Avengers actor’s taste. The much-talked-about interview happened while Robert Downey Jr. was promoting Avengers: Age of Ultron last week.
Guru-Murthy and Downey Jr. clashed when the interview turned to the time the actor spent in jail after being arrested multiple times between 1996 and 2001. The interviewer asked the 50-year-old star about these remarks he made in a 2008 interview.
“You can’t go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal.”
The Iron Man actor claimed he didn’t remember the remarks, but patiently sat there taking the questions. The interview became even more tense when the interviewer asked Downey Jr. about his relationship with his father, drinking, and taking drugs.
A visibly annoyed Robert Downey Jr.said, “I’m sorry, I really don’t…what are we doing?”
The Channel4 host replied, “I’m just asking questions,” and at that point Robert Downey Jr. smiled, got up, waved goodbye, and walked out on the interview. This is not the first time Guru-Murphy has clashed with a celebrity.
In a 2013 interview, director Quentin Tarantino threatened Guru-Murthy saying, “I’m shutting your butt down,” after being pressed on links between real and onscreen violence, according to the Guardian. Following the Robert Downey Jr interview, Guru-Murthy seemed to be taunting the actor on Twitter.
During the Howard Stern interview, Robert Downey Jr. said he should have anticipated not having any fun with Guru-Murthy.
“First of all, I don’t even know the guy’s name, but I know he pulled the same garbage on (Quentin) Tarantino, and Tarantino stayed in his chair and lit him up for five minutes.”
“I’m one of the guys who is always assuming the social, kind of decorum is in play, and that we’re promoting a superhero movie – a lot of kids are going to see it – and this has nothing to do with your creepy, dark agenda. I just realized, too, that I’m a 50-year-old guy, I use fancy words on The Howard Stern Show, and yet I’m completely unevolved when it comes down to simple boundaries. Like, ‘You know what? You’re weirding me out. You are a bottom-feeding muckraker.'”
Some have criticized the actor for not revealing where he stands politically. Do you think Robert Downey Jr. handled this interview properly and is a good example for his young fans?
[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]
