Robert Downey Jr. (2014)

Fortunately, it's about an affably self-important white guy who thinks he understands the "black experience." It was so wrong and outrageous that it was forgivable. But I certainly was happy to hear from my African-American friends that they were okay with it, and some of them even delighted in telling me what relative it reminded them of. Somebody just told me just the other day that they're convinced that I was channeling Wesley Snipes. He's a pretty cool customer, so I don't want to presume I would be up to the task.

chuckle

Excellent question.

It started with the first Iron Man: a guy named Pedro from Shave of Beverly Hills. I mean, this guy's an artist. He's like the Edward Scissorhands of Mustaches and Beards. And then, once you set a standard, it's all about upkeep and modulating it. It tends to be a lot of work, but I'm glad you appreciate it.

It was beyond my comprehension for the first 2 years. And now I see it as a logical, lucky, entertaining piece of history.

I'll answer the second question first.

Over the course of lead-up to releasing The Judge, the audiences were telling us that yes, the evocative, dramatic aspects of the film were primarily what was holding their attention, however as our test scores were going higher and higher, much of that was due to the giddy dispersion of moments of laughter and release, situations and characters who behaved in a funny manner. And so Team Downey and the studio decided it was natural to lean into that. At its core, you could call it a drama. It's a surprisingly humorous movie. In other words, it's not a bleak nihilistic downer. It's quite uplifting.

Over the last 10 years, the world has changed, and I'm no exception. What I love about America is that your political views are not fixed by nature. It's natural that I would see the downside of liberalism while housed in an institution, as it's not an uncommon occurrence for people to take advantage of a system that caters to its psychological needs. To be pointed, humanity (myself included) is not above manipulating a democratic situation to suit its own selfish short-term goals. I hope that offers an explanation.

Excellent question.

Probably our hemp-headed forefathers. I guess they'd be called Founding Fathers. I'm pretty sure Jefferson grew a bunch of weed...

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Yes, we have a Sherlock 3 in development. We want it to be the best of the series, so that's a pretty tall order. Also, Perry Mason is a property I'm looking forward to developing further, going back to the 1931 book series...similarly to what we did with the first 2 Sherlocks, mining the original material for things that are "new."

I've been waiting for this question.

Garlic.

Extra cheese.

Onions.

Spinach.

Pepperoni.

Nothing is impossible. But there might be a fair amount of red tape involved in something like that. I love Clark Gregg, and am pleased the show is doing so well.

It was entirely shot at night. We were pretty giddy most of the time. I saw it last week by chance, and had a flood of fond memories. On the first day of shooting, Val Kilmer (genius) almost choked to death on a piece of catering chicken right before we shot the first scene of the movie. His eyes were still watering until we got to his close up.

I'm so happy he's still with us.

Very impressed with Benedict. Such smart writing on that show. I have screen envy.

Meet me at Applebee's. And we'll figure it all out. No harm, no foul. I have no recollection of any negative behaviors on your part. Give yourself a break!

My 2 year old is fond of Hawkeye, so just for today, he'll top my list.

No, and I'm incensed.

There's no E in their Downy, so if they wouldn't mind a rebrand with an additional vowel, I'd meet them halfway.

I require at least one bath per day.

A) I'd like to spend more time with Elon Musk.

B) Andrew Luck, I got to meet him a few days ago, he seems cool, quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.

Let's see... so many great new tennis players too...

C) Anderson Cooper.

R2D2.

exhaling noise

India. I want to possess it.

Let me try.

The first Iron Man was essentially wrapping the character around a cooler version of "me." As we've gone along, I'm starting to wonder who's playing who, and I'm glad there are so many talented new people in the Marvel lineup. Ultimately, I'm real, and he's not. It's kind of important for me to remember that.

I love running into kids who didn't expect to see me. I once ran into a four year old who just happened to be wearing a Captain America mask at the time. It seemed natural to him, being that he was Cap, to see some of his friends around. I think I was more excited than him.

For the most part, autograph collectors are pretty cool, and when they're weird, you just try to forget them.

Haha!

The Hulk is a slob. Bruce Banner's etiquette is right out of the Tiffany Book of Table Manners. I remember shooting that shawarma post-credit scene, and having just finished Avengers: Age of Ultron, wondered how we'd beat it. Joss says "The way to win is to not try."

It was an offhanded remark to a journalist and friend. I have other projects in mind for Mel and I - sooner than later the Marvel Roster will be made public and all questions will be answered.

I'm stumped. Can't I have a little bit of both?

In order of occurrence:

Indio

Exton

and the daughter we're having in November.

Gore Vidal wrote an excellent novel around 1962, about an emperor, Julian. I believe he was just after Constantine and Constantius, so roughly 4th Century Common Era (A.D.). I'm too old to play him, but it's an incredible story.

No risk, no reward.

There are times in our lives when you gotta put all your chips in the middle.

ONE HUNDRED PERCENT.

You're welcome.

If anything, it was more a sense of profound respect. But putting him on the stand was definitely one of the trickier things I've ever attempted.

It's funny you'd bring that up. A writer asked me to watch a particular episode about a month ago, in hopes of helping us break story on a project. An incredible series. Anything's possible.

I'm terrible at recalling practical jokes...

I hear about a lot of these onset practical jokes, I don't recall having witnessed one. Shoots can be pretty high strung - performance anxiety, all that. You wouldn't want to send them over the edge.

I'd say about half and half. Oftentimes, on the day, they'll scribble out a bunch of alternatives, and see which one works best in the edit.

chuckle

Good luck, that's a challenging and rewarding profession (so I'm told).

I guess the main thing is to bring a sense of loving service into whatever you do. So even on a bad day, it's not such a bummer.

So far, cats. But we've had some great dogs over the years.

You gotta really feel it with a dog. Cats are obviously more independent, so as long as they don't mind you, everything's cool.

Yes, thank you. I fondly recall a Yorkshire terrier named Sturgis. I teased him mercilessly. I beg his forgiveness. We were buddies, though.

I have enough trouble getting online. I wish I was a gamer. It seems like gamers have more fun!

Thank you, first of all!

The Perry Mason project we're developing is kind of a pre-"Chinatown" gumshoe thriller with some courtroom stakes, and action sequences. So you've got one in the pipes, just for you.

A boat, an umbrella, my family, a bouncy house, and a really big teepee. Then it would just be an eco-lodge vacation.

I remember driving a classic convertible, first day of shooting, no experience with the car, it was a big boat, and I have to fit it right into a parking spot with a sandbag, that sort of thing. And I remember being so proud that i didn't bang up the car, or overshoot the mark and knock over the monitors or something.

Development can be super-rewarding. But to be honest, probably promotion. Once you have a product you believe in, taking it on the road, and telling it!

If you haven't seen Gerard Depardieu and Andie McDowell in Green Card, I highly suggest it.

Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon.

Moderate to good.

It's important to remember to eat, catch yourself when you're getting irritable, recognize when you're feeling lonely, and not burn out when you're tired.

Hard to say. I suspect when this superhero stuff gets tired, I'll look for a historical character and dig deeper than ever. And then I bet Al Pacino will win that year anyway.

If he'll sign the waiver, it should be quite a barrage. I haven't cleared it with his agent yet.

By the way, we have two cats. Both extremely photogenic.

Probably costumes. I remember after doing Chaplin, 12 boxes arriving from the studio, I think there were 56 outfits. I'm sure I have 3 or 4 left. I donated some, wore some for theme weddings (back to the other question)... I wish I'd kept 'em all. It would be fun to do a retrospective.

I have a Charlie Brown baseball cap that literally looks like something Schroeder would wear. I'm American, how could I not be a Peanuts fan?

I love you too!

Here it comes: gluten-free crackers, almond butter, cherry jam, and rice milk. It gives you a little protein... sometimes just a handful of Rice Chex'll do it.

It's the closest thing to a perfect film I've ever been part of.

Rodney Dangerfield was a true original. Extremely kind. Wickedly funny. Forget the costumes - I had more gelatine in my hair than you'd use for 100 bowls of Jell-O! You could literally bounce a tennis ball off my hair. It was crispy - it turned into, like, they were like bamboo horns. It was the best.

Tarte tatin.

As evidenced by the contingency of swooning ladies on the set of The Judge, I have to concede to Mr. Thornton.

Lots of Cocteau twins, Jean-Luc Ponty...Eric Satie, and as usual, LCD Soundsystem.

I thought that would be a funny name for my character's law firm. I also figured that Billy Bob's character came from a rival law firm called "Duey, Pickem & Howe."