Robert Downey Jr. on ‘Tropic Thunder’ blackface: ‘90 percent of my black friends were like, “Dude, that was great” ’ source: ( thewashingtonpost ) January 22, 2020 Allyson Chiu writes: When Robert Downey Jr. first got the call about possibly starring in “ Tropic Thunder ,” the 2008 Hollywood parody helmed by actor-director Ben Stiller, the “Iron Man” lead was conflicted. Downey was slated to play the character of Kirk Lazarus, a five-time Oscar-winning Australian actor who undergoes “pigmentation alteration” surgery to portray a black soldier in the satirical film-within-a-film, and the job carried a major risk: wearing blackface makeup. I thought: ‘Yeah, I’ll do that. I’ll do that after ‘Iron Man,’ ” Downey, 54, said during a recent appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, recalling his conversation with Stiller. “And then I started thinking, ‘This is a terrible idea.’ ” Downey’s hesitation was brief. “I thought: ‘Hold on, dude. Get real here. Where is your heart?
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