Robert Downey Jr. is a master at transforming for his movie roles and he proved it once again when he was spotted filming in New York on Tuesday, April 12. The 57-year-old thespian looked unrecognizable sporting a full head of white hair as he worked on a scene with Cillian Murphy for Christipher Nolan’s new historical drama Oppenheimer.
The Marvel star was dressed appropriately for the period piece in a pair of high-waisted pants, suspenders and a tie. His spectacles added to his more mature look, as he shared the spotlight with Cillian, who was dressed in a brown trench coat, hat and matching suit.
Robert will reportedly be portraying Former United States Secretary of Commerce Lewis Strauss for the feature scheduled to debut in 2023. Cillian is taking over the titular role of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist considered the “father of the atomic bomb.” The cast also includes Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, Rami Malek and Jack Quaid. Nolan is directing the film based on the book “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin.
Robert’s new role will no doubt fit nicely in his canon of incredible movie characters. He’s of course most recognized for playing Iron Man in its titular franchise. Soon after retiring the beloved superhero (for now), he turned to playing Dr. Doolittle, a man who could talk to animals. “I wanted to do something different, I played [Charlie] Chaplin, I played Sherlock [Holmes], I wanted to up my game,” he revealed back in 2020. The family-friendly movie was also a great move for his role as a father, as his two young sons Exton Elias and Avri Roel were excited to finally be able to see one of their pop’s movies. “It’s a PG film! [They gave it] a thumbs up…but at that point, they were probably eating cotton candy,” he joked at the time.
And speaking of Sherlock, Robert is ready to take on the part of the British sleuth once again, as the third film in the Sherlock Holmes series is reportedly scheduled to begin pre-production. After that, we can see Robert play a professional thief in the recently announced Play Dirty.
