NEW YORK — Robert Downey Jr. made his Broadway debut this week in the play “McNeal,” revealing some unexpected inspirations that helped him prepare for the stage. “Doing ‘Oppenheimer’ with (Christopher) Nolan got me back into this very monastic focus and then doing ‘The Sympathizer’ got me into this kind of flexibility.
And that was very different because of playing multiple characters,” Downey said. The Oscar winner for his role in “Oppenheimer” stated that those two projects provided the confidence boost he needed. Without them, he said “I believe I would be in a much more precarious situation.
” Downey also sought advice from Bradley Cooper, who earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance in “The Elephant Man” in 2015. “He said, ‘Dude, just remember, you’re going to feel your feet in your shoes. You’re going to walk out onto that stage and the audience is going to be like a pillow.
’ And I was, like, well, that’s pretty positive. So I’m going to take the Bradley Cooper approach and let it be a beautiful thing.” “McNeal” is a one-act play by Ayad Akhtar that delves into themes of artificial intelligence, artistic integrity, plagiarism and copyright infringement.
Downey plays the titular character, Jacob McNeal, an acclaimed novelist whose battles with alcoholism and mental illness culminate at a crucial juncture in his career. The special effects in the play also provided the “Iron Man” actor with a comfort zone, ca.