While Robert Downey Jr’s career was largely dictated by his association with the MCU in the 2010s, his brilliance as Tony Stark is only one aspect of the actor’s expertise in the medium. Being a recipient of three Oscar nods, RDJ hasn’t shied away from putting his abilities to the test, whether it be mastering the Australian accent for Tropic Thunder or the British one for Sherlock Holmes.
But while the Oscar winner hasn’t dropped the ball when it comes to tackling other accents onscreen, his initial foray to deliver an English accent went horribly wrong, which ended up costing him the 2006 rom-com.
Kate Winslet Was Appalled by Robert Downey Jr’s English Accent
Pre-Iron Man and Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey Jr auditioned to star in 2006’s The Holiday, starring Kate Winslet. Heading into the audition, the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang star was fairly optimistic, as the actor was hellbent on delivering a better English accent than Jude Law, who’d eventually nab the gig.
But things didn’t turn out well for the Oppenheimer star, as during his reading with the actress, the Titanic star made sure to show RDJ a mirror, stressing “That was the worst British accent I’ve ever heard”.
RDJ recalled:
We both got called in just as seat fillers…[director Nancy Meyers] needed someone to read with the gals and we’re sitting there going, ‘It’s about to happen for us.’ And I was like, ‘I’ve got to have a better English accent than Jude Law at this point.’ And Winslet said, ‘That was the worst British accent I’ve ever heard.’ And I was like, ‘I’ll check out now, but I’m taking the gummy bears from the minibar.’
The Iron Man star wasn’t the only actor who didn’t make it past the audition process, as similar was the case with Jimmy Fallon, who lost the gig of Miles to Jack Black. As for the movie, despite not being a critical darling, the rom-com did fairly well, making over $205M at the box office.
Sherlock Holmes 3 Is a Priority for Robert Downey Jr per Producers
On the bright side, RDJ made sure to bounce back in the following years, as he went on to deliver a convincing British accent for his outing as Sherlock Holmes. As for the franchise’s future, which has been sitting on ice for over a decade, last year, producers Susan Downey and Amanda Burrell revealed that the threequel is a priority for the Iron Man star.
Here’s what I can tell you… Prior to this we had lunch together with Robert… It was a very specific topic of conversation, so yes. It is in the hopper. We’re gonna do it when it’s right with the right people but it is a priority for the company and a priority for Robert.
While time will tell what the future holds for RDJ’s Sherlock Holmes, seeing how far the actor has come since being turned down for The Holiday is truly astonishing.
The Holiday is available to rent on Apple TV.
