Robert Downey Jr. Teases Christopher Nolan for Being an Introvert as He Honors Director with Sundance Award

Christopher Nolan continues to rack up accolades this awards season.

On Thursday, Robert Downey Jr. presented his Oppenheimer director with the Sundance Institute’s inaugural Trailblazer Award at the Sundance Film Festival, during the event’s opening night gala in Park City, Utah.

While presenting Nolan with the award, 58-year-old Downey Jr. he joked OppenheimerThe great success had an undesirable effect on the “enigmatic author”, because it made him more recognizable to the general public.

“He needs a lift — he’s a little blue because he’s had a terrible tragedy,” Downey Jr. joked. of Nolan, joking about the 53-year-old director, “I don’t mean to bring it up, I know it’s very personal, but he’s become recognizable on the street.”

Continuing to poke fun at Nolan’s reserved character, Downey Jr. said, “We became extremely close, as we once had dinner on location.”

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Christopher Nolan and Robert Downey Jr. at the opening night of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on January 18, 2024.

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The actor went on to say that Nolan once asked him if “death by schmoozing” was possible.

“During this tumultuous social season in light of the loud global reaction to Oppenheimer phenomenon, Chris and I shared a vulnerable moment of existential inquiry. He put his hand on my shoulder, got a little misty-eyed, and whispered, ‘I’m starting to wonder if it’s possible… death by schmoozing,’ Downey Jr. said. in a fake-serious low tone.

Meanwhile, after receiving the honor, Nolan sweetly acknowledged his wife, producer Emma Thomas, saying she “produced all my movies and all my kids.” The couple married in 1997 and have four children: Flora, Magnus, Oliver and Rory.

Nolan, whose summer blockbuster Oppenheimer is now the highest-grossing biopic of all time, winning praise at Sundance more than two decades ago when his second feature Memory screened at the festival in 2001. He mentioned that early success in his speech on Thursday.

“The experiences you have here [at Sundance] as a filmmaker it’s unique,” he said. “You carry that with you throughout your career, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the experience I had here 23 years ago [with Memento] and for receiving this award tonight.”

Christopher Nolan in New York on January 3, 2024.

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Sundance’s Trailblazer Award is intended to recognize “an artist’s unwavering commitment to and significant contribution to the field of independent film,” according to the release.

“I present Memory at the Sundance Film Festival marked a pivotal moment in my career,” Nolan said in a statement on November 1, 2023. “This award is a full-circle moment and a testament to the extraordinary impact of independent filmmaking.”

Presenting Nolan with the award on Thursday, Downey Jr. said, “A pioneer goes where no one has gone before and it’s hard to follow,” joking, “That’s what thrills him—the very possibility of not having to see anyone on the road ahead of him at all. Ever.”

The honor is just the latest for Nolan in recent weeks, after the London-born director took home Best Director Oppenheimer at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards earlier this month.

Downey Jr. he also walked away with awards at both ceremonies, for best supporting actor in a film about the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy.

Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer (2023).

Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures

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During his speech at the Globes on January 7, Nolan reflected on the year of his 2008 film. dark Knight was up for awards, “The only time I’ve ever been on this stage was to accept one of these on behalf of our dear friend, [the late] Heath Ledger, and that was complicated and challenging for me.”

“And in the middle of the speech, I looked down at Robert Downey Jr., [who] caught my eye and gave me a supportive look. The same view [he’s] giving me now — the same love and support he’s shown so many people in your community over the years,” Nolan added.

Admiration and respect are mutual, because Downey Jr. recently reflected on Nolan’s impact on his craft following his poorly reviewed 2020 film. Dolittleafter taking so long off from playing Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“They say Nolan will come when the student is ready,” Downey Jr. said. on the Jan. 11 episode of Rob Lowe Literally! podcast. “I mean, the teacher will come. And that’s what happened.”

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