10 Actors Who Refused To Play Themselves On Screen

4. Robert Downey Jr. - Dolittle

Usual Suspects
Universal Pictures

When it was announced that Robert Downey Jr. was both producing and starring in a new Doctor Dolittle movie, speculation ran rampant over exactly how Downey would approach the material and the character.

Many theorised that we'd basically end up with a Tony Stark-esque, quip-filled rendition of Dolittle - given that Tony Stark doesn't seem much divorced from the actor's real personality - perhaps even rocking an American accent as in the 1998 Eddie Murphy-starring Dr. Dolittle.

But it soon emerged that Downey was in fact opting for a more faithful adaptation of Hugh Lofting's 1922 novel "The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle," yet rather than simply play Dolittle with a broad English accent, he decided to get a little more adventurous.

Miles away from his natural American accent, Downey fancied Dolittle as a Welshman, and so committed to a musical, mumbly Welsh twang for the part.

Both the film and Downey's performance were ridiculed - the latter especially by the Welsh! - for while the actor had certainly flung himself miles away from popular persona, the end result was deeply irritating if not totally incomprehensible.

Honestly, Iron Man-as-Doctor Dolittle probably would've been a lot better.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.