Robert Downey Jr. Not Interested in Oscar Nomination for his Work as Iron Man

Despite a Change.org petition gaining traction that seeks to acquire some official recognition from the Academy for Robert Downey Jr.’s decade+ work as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the actor has seemingly confirmed that he isn’t really into the idea, and has even gone some way to nix any plan from Marvel or Disney to pursue it via Avengers: Endgame‘s “for your consideration” campaign.

Downey Jr. was in conversation with Howard Stern earlier this week when the host broached the subject of a potential Oscar nomination passing him by, with Stern indicating that he deserved some Oscar love for the hard work he’d put in over the years. Downey Jr. has previously been bestowed nominations for Best Actor (Chaplin) and Best Supporting Actor (Tropic Thunder) but didn’t win in either instance.

“I’m so glad you brought this up because there was some talk about it, and I said ‘let’s not’ and because I’m much more like you than you might really want to believe,” Downey Jr. explained. “I listen to the show and I agree with most all of your opinions, varied though they may be. Occasionally, you’ll go on some tributary trail of thought I’ll go like ‘oh that’s not how I see it, but I love that you see it that way.'”

The conversation had initially begun with Stern asking if Downey Jr. still enjoyed being part of the MCU’s impact, after Martin Scorsese’s recent comments to Empire magazine that MCU movies are “not cinema.”

“I’ll tell you the truth. I didn’t expect [the Marvel Cinematic Universe] to become what it became, and it is this very large, multi-headed Hydra at this point,” Downey Jr. said, before adding drily “I’ve always had other interests and according to Scorsese, it’s not cinema so I have to take a look at that, you know?”

Stern then pressed Downey Jr. on how he felt about the director’s feelings on the matter, which came as he did the rounds promoting his upcoming Netflix film, The Irishman.

“It’s his opinion,” said Downey Jr.. “I mean it plays in theaters. I appreciate his opinion because I think it’s like anything. We need all of the different perspectives so we can come to the centre and move on.”

Downey Jr.’s MCU co-star, Samuel L. Jackson, made a more direct case for the superhero franchise earlier this week, remarking “that’s like saying Bugs Bunny ain’t funny. Films are films. Everybody doesn’t like [Martin Scorsese’s] stuff either.”

Just like what you like.