Robert Downey Jr is a black man in TROPIC THUNDER

By Matt Holmes / June 25, 2011

Wow, the first time I saw the image of Robert Downey Jr. in the upcoming comedy Tropic Thunder, I didn't even realise it was him and nor did I think twice about the guy in the photo being a black man. So I'm about to post it on this site when I stumble across Cinema Blend's post on the image and low and behold - I see it's him. And surprisingly, unbelievably... it's extremely convincing at first glance.

In the movie Robert Downey Jr. plays Kirk Lazarus, a serious Oscar-winning actor who is cast in the most expensive Vietnam War movie ever (described as the modern day equivalent of Apocalypse Now), however a panic occurs when he realises the character he plays was originally written as black. So he dyes his skin, presumably with the mentality of a method actor like Daniel Day Lewis or Christian Bale. A hell of a risky move from director and star Ben Stiller and for Paramount to push with it and give it the greenlight. To be fair, it looks ok in still motion but when it comes to the big dance and we see it on film it could be extremely offensive. Props to Robert Downey though, he's hanging his balls out right there and he's so methodical with his performances he might just pull this off. From the original article in Entertainment Weekly...

''If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago,'' Downey says. ''If you don't do it right, we're going to hell.'' ''At the end of the day, it's always about how well you commit to the character,'' he says. ''I dove in with both feet. If I didn't feel it was morally sound, or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I'm just C. Thomas Howell in [Soul Man], I would've stayed home.''

Stiller also chimes in...

''I was trying to push it as far as you can within reality,'' Stiller explains. ''I had no idea how people would respond to it.'' He recently screened a rough cut of the film and it scored high with African-Americans. He was relieved at the reaction. ''It seems people really embrace it,'' he says.

I love, love, love the idea of this movie set around a writer (Steve Coogan) and director (Nick Nolte) who get so fed up with their prima donna cast that they send them out into the real jungle of a war zone. I'm really hoping Ben Stiller can get back on track and be funny again after the gross mis-fire that was The Heartbreak Kid. Jack Black (as the blonde guy at the back of the photo), Jay Baruchel, Bill Hader and Danny McBride co-star in the pic with expected cameo's from Hollywood stars Tom Cruise, Tobey Maguire and Matthew McCoungahey expected, among others. LOOK FOR THE TRAILER ON MARCH 17th, WHERE WE SHOULD FIND OUT JUST HOW OFFENSIVE & FUNNY THE MOVIE REALLY IS. THE FILM ITSELF WILL OPEN IN AUGUST.