Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man casting one of the 'greatest in the history of movies', says Christopher Nolan

It’s Friday, 21 July, and you know what that means - a very happy Barbenheimer day to all who celebrate.

Whether you’re ready to commit to the greatest double bill of movie releases in the history of cinema, or if you’re just watching one or the other, there’s no doubt that cinemagoers this weekend are in for a phenomenal time. Critics have been full of praise for both films, so you can’t go wrong with either.

Take a look at the trailer for Oppenheimer below.

In Oppenheimer, alongside Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer himself, Marvel star Robert Downey Jr. portrays Lewis Strauss, a member of the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). In a new interview on Josh Horowitz’ Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan spoke about Downey’s role in the new film, and praised the decision to cast him as Iron Man as “one of the greatest casting decisions in the history of movies”.

“I thought when [Jon] Favreau had the insight to cast him as Iron Man… it’s one of the greatest casting decisions in the history of movies,” Nolan said. “You look at what that did and where that went with everything, and I think that was Jon just knowing what an incredible actor, what incredible potential there was from Downey. Then, the movie saw charisma - that wonderful charisma comes into play.”

He continued: “What was cool about getting to work with Downey on this project was to be able to go to him and say, ‘Okay, put that charisma, put that movie star thing to one side for a second, and just lose yourself in this real-life human being, who is so complex, and has such an incredible part to play in Oppenheimer’s story’. To watch him just sort of go back to that genius as an actor, just finding the truth in another human being and presenting it, and the things he does in the film, I think a lot of his fanbase are going to be extremely surprised.

“It’s really cool to see somebody who’s achieved such greatness as a movie star pivot completely, and stretch themselves in a way that a lot of people haven’t seen him do.”

Oppenheimer is out in cinemas now.