Ben Stiller is doubtful that his 2008 satirical comedy “Tropic Thunder” could get made today. The film, which centers on a group of egotistical actors making a Vietnam War movie, grossed nearly $200 million worldwide and picked up an Oscar nomination for supporting actor thanks to Robert Downey Jr. But it’s Downey’s character that would likely prevent “Tropic Thunder” from getting off the ground in 2024 Hollywood.
Downey starred in “Tropic Thunder” as Kirk Lazarus, an Australian thespian who takes Method acting to an unethical extreme by donning Blackface (or undergoing “pigmentation alteration” surgery, as he puts it) to play a Black soldier in the Vietnam movie. Stiller was lampooning the insane lengths actors go to in order to win awards, but it’s too “dicey” to do again.
“Obviously, in this environment, edgier comedy is just harder to do,” Stiller told Collider. “Definitely not at the scale we made it at, too, in terms of the economics of the business. I think even at the time we were fortunate to get it made, and I credit that, actually, to Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks. He read it and was like, ‘Alright, let’s make this thing.’ It’s a very inside movie when you think about it.”
“The idea of Robert playing that character who’s playing an African American character, I mean, incredibly dicey,” Stiller continued. “Even at the time, of course, it was dicey too. The only reason we attempted it was I felt like the joke was very clear in terms of who that joke was on — actors trying to do anything to win awards. But now, in this environment, I don’t even know if I would have ventured to do it, to tell you the truth. I’m being honest.”
Stiller wrote on his X profile last year that he makes “no apologies” for “Tropic Thunder,” adding: It’s always been a controversial movie since when we opened. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it.”
While some have criticized Downey in recent years for donning Blackface in the movie, the actor himself has never agreed with the backlash. During an appearance on Rob Lowe’s “Literally!” podcast earlier this year, Downey drew a line between “Tropic Thunder” and Norman Lear’s iconic sitcom “All in the Family.” He said both works shine a light on “tropes that are not right and had been perpetuated for too long” and faced criticism from those who weren’t seeing the bigger picture.
“There used to be an understanding with an audience, and I’m not saying that the audience is no longer understanding — I’m saying that things have gotten very muddied,” Downey said. “The spirit that [Ben] Stiller directed and cast and shot ‘Tropic Thunder’ in was, essentially, as a railing against all of these tropes that are not right and [that] had been perpetuated for too long.”
During a 2020 episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Downey Jr. recalled his mother being “horrified” when she learned of his role in “Tropic Thunder.” While he was aware of the potential backlash the role could generate, he still thought to himself: “I get to hold up to nature the insane self-involved hypocrisy of artists and what they think they’re allowed to do on occasion.”
“[Ben Stiller] knew exactly what the vision for this was, he executed it, it was impossible to not have it be an offensive nightmare of a movie,” Downey Jr. added at the time. “And 90% of my Black friends were like, ‘Dude, that was great.’ I can’t disagree with [the other 10%], but I know where my heart lies. I think that it’s never an excuse to do something that’s out of place and out of its time, but to me it blasted the cap on [the issue]. I think having a moral psychology is job one. Sometimes, you just gotta go, ‘Yeah I effed up.’ In my defense, ‘Tropic Thunder’ is about how wrong [Blackface] is, so I take exception.”
In addition to his Oscar nomination, Downey competed for best supporting actor at the BAFTA Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globes.