Robert Downey Jr. has worked with enough filmmakers that when he starts comparing directing styles, I am going to listen. This is an actor whose career has taken him from his father’s underground film world to John Hughes, Richard Attenborough, Shane Black, Jon Favreau, Guy Ritchie, Christopher Nolan and, soon enough, back to the MCU for a new Marvel movie where he’ll play Doctor Doom. So, when he casually drops a Clint Eastwood story about “calling action” while talking about how different movie sets operate, my ears perk up.
RDJ was recently asked what it was like working with Nolan on Oppenheimer. Instead of jumping straight into the usual praise, he backed into the answer by mentioning legendary actor and director Clint Eastwood, and the detail is one I had never heard before. He explained during an interview with Conversations for Our Daughters:
Well, speaking of seeking out adversity, and by adversity, I mean things that run counter to what you may have imagined a set should be like with a bunch of professionals. I know Clint Eastwood was like, ‘No sugar.’ And he would never say action because he didn’t like the idea that there was some big yell between inaction and beginning to perform.
That is such a fascinating little detail about the A Fistful of Dollars star. Calling “action” is one of the most basic pieces of film language. Even people who have never been near a set know that rhythm: quiet on set, roll camera, action. It’s practically baked into how most people imagine movies being made.
Yet, according to the Iron Man actor, Eastwood avoided it because he did not like the hard line it created between regular human behavior and performance. Interestingly, Downey does not appear to have worked with Eastwood himself, but this is clearly one of those Hollywood stories that has made the rounds, even if it was new to me.
The story makes sense for Eastwood, whose screen persona has often been built on economy. As a director, he has a reputation for working quickly, keeping setups simple and bringing films in under budget and on schedule. If you are trying to get actors into something natural, maybe a shouted command is not the cleanest way in, especially if they may only get one or two passes at the material.
Downey then used that thought to pivot to Nolan, whose approach sounds different but is similarly stripped down. He continued:
With Christopher Nolan, it’s all about a Spartan dedication to everything happening in front of the camera. Anything that’s not happening in front of the camera shouldn’t be happening.
That description lines up with the Nolan lore that has built up over the years. His sets have a reputation for focus, discipline and very little wasted motion. Tom Holland, who worked with Nolan on The Odyssey, has also talked about how the director runs a set and how that experience influenced the attitude he brought to the making of the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The Avengers star went on to say Nolan “abhors waste” and “craves efficiency,” but he also made an important distinction. To Downey, Nolan’s style is not about avoiding chaos entirely. He continued:
It’s not control and it’s not an attempt to avert chaos. On the contrary, he loves a little angst in there.
The Chaplain actor also compared working with Nolan to working with “a good parent,” aka someone who will not let you get away with nonsense but who wants you to succeed. That might be my favorite part of his answer, because it explains why an actor of his stature would seem so eager to give himself over to that environment.
Both Nolan and Eastwood, at least in Downey’s telling, seem suspicious of unnecessary noise. During Eastwood’s career, he avoided the big “action” command because it interrupted the delicate shift into performance. Meanwhile, Nolan strips away anything that does not belong in front of the camera because waste gets in the way. Two iconic filmmakers, two very different methods, and one surprising shared instinct: protect the moment.
RDJ returns to Marvel in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, which is set to hit theaters Dec. 18. As for Eastwood, he worked well into his 90s, though his family has indicated he is likely done making movies. His final acting and directing effort appears to be 2021’s Cry Macho. And honestly, after seven decades in show business, the man has more than earned the right to fold up his director’s chair.