The actor was up against Heath Ledger’s Joker in 2009 and lost out to the late actor.

Christopher Nolan might be on his way to finally bag his much-deserved Oscar win with this year’s magnum opus Oppenheimer. The film, based on the life of Robert J Oppenheimer, was one of the highest-grossing films of the year and was part of one of the biggest cinematic events of the year, ‘Barbenheimer’.

The film stars Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and a brilliant Robert Downey Jr. delivering one of his finest performances. The actor is touted to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor this year for his brilliant portrayal of Lewis Strauss. The last time Downey Jr. was nominated for an Oscar, he lost to Heath Ledger’s Joker in Nolan’s The Dark Knight.

Robert Downey Jr. Lost The Oscar To Heath Ledger In 2009

Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger on the sets of The Dark Knight

Robert Downey Jr. spent more than a decade playing the role of Tony Stark a.k.a Iron Man in the MCU. The legendary performance has gotten him fans around the world and has made him synonymous with the character. He made his last appearance in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and received a fitting goodbye that bookended his ten-year journey.

The same year Downey Jr. debuted as Iron Man in the MCU, another superhero film made waves and revolutionized the way the genre was considered by studios. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight was the highest-grossing film of the year, earning $1.06 billion at the global box office. The film was widely regarded as the reason comic-book films began to be taken seriously by studios, critics, and audiences.

Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder

Heath Ledger, who played Joker in the film, was posthumously nominated for an Oscar along with Robert Downey Jr.’s Kirk Lazarus from Tropic Thunder. Downey Jr. lost his second Oscar nomination after Chaplin to Ledger’s Joker, who became the second Oscar winner to be awarded posthumously.

Downey Jr.’s role in Tropic Thunder is still widely regarded as one of his best performances. He played the role of a method actor who believes he is a Black soldier during the Vietnam War as he films a war movie. The satirical comedy also starred Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Tom Cruise, and Bill Hader.

Christopher Nolan Is On The Side Of Robert Downey Jr. This Oscar Season

A still from Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight revolutionized the industry in many ways, one of which is the way the Academy viewed tentpole films while considering them for the Oscars. The superhero film did not receive a Best Picture nomination which many critics felt was the Academy’s bias against popular films and genre films. This made the Academy increase the limit of films to be considered for nominations.

While Nolan himself may not have won the coveted trophy yet, his films have always helped technicians and other artists in the film win the award. Wally Pfister won the award for Best Cinematography for his work on Inception and Heath Ledger won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

Robert Downey Jr.’s performance in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer seems to be the popular choice for Best Supporting Actor among fans. The actor has already been nominated for a Golden Globe in the same category and is on his path to lift the coveted trophy. Christopher Nolan spoke greatly about Downey Jr.’s performance in the film to Vanity Fair,

“There’s just a little moment where he just brings his hand up to his neck and it’s a handheld close-up. In that gesture, you just see into this guy’s soul. You just don’t see actors giving you access to somebody’s raw humanity in that way. And it’s such a tiny little moment. Every time it just gets me.”

With Christopher Nolan’s endorsement of him, Robert Downey Jr. may finally receive the award that was taken from him fifteen years ago by an actor from a Nolan film.