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ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You're bookending the summer with performances in Iron Man and then in Tropic Thunder. Is that a strange feeling, entering a summer knowing it may be referred to as ''The Summer of Robert Downey Jr.''?
ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: I'll take it! You know, by the way, this is my 25th year in the industry, and I've seen everybody else have their summer. So when it comes to the showdown, like, a screen test or a street fight, it's probably best to punch first. But in things like this and the trajectory of anyone's life — and mine is, you know, fair extreme in its examples of highs and lows — it feels really, really gratifying to be able to be old enough and mature enough to process this and enjoy it. But also, like, my older-male peers would say, ''Hey, just like the down times, when you let it flow and let it go, really feel this [success], but also know it's fleeting.'' And, you know, Ben [Stiller] is already working me for Tropic Thunder, so in a way I feel like there's no rest for the happy-weary. But it's wild. It really is so wild.

You've just wrapped on The Soloist, right?
Yes, sir.

Which will be out in November?
Supposedly.

To go from two big summer movies to a solid dramatic acting role to round out the year — that's a good year.
It feels to me like that championship season, you know? There's something a little bittersweet already about it, because I know I will never work this hard again. [Laughs] Certainly not on purpose. You know, this time I did it on purpose. It's just weird the way things happen. You know, ''Things happen in threes!'' And I'm like, well, you know, you buy into that superstition and watch things happen in threes for you. I'm more of a ''What you believe and expect, you're likely to experience.'' And hope is real good. It's central, in fact.

Yeah.
I don't know. I'm so tired of hearing my own voice on this kind of stuff.... [Laughs] It's trippy. You know, I certainly didn't expect for it to turn out this way. I knew after Iron Man there was going to be such a crash, and I knew myself at least well enough to know that just this once the best thing to do after doing a big job was to go jump into another big job right away. And then after that, when I knew Jamie [Foxx] was doing The Soloist, and I'd seen Atonement and realized how gifted Joe Wright was, I thought, Wow, looks like I'm going to be doing that too.

It seems like you're going to be spending the summer riding the promotional train — you don't have any projects lined up to leap into any time soon?
I really don't know. I mean, can you imagine me just taking a job to get out of press? Who'da thought? I was pulling out from Jay Leno's [show] over there, and I had to call you, and I got stuff to do, and my kid's waiting for me at home, and there's all these folks [by the studio gate], half of whom just want me to sign something so they can go sell it on eBay. But while I'm pulling out, they go ''Robert! We're the ones who put you where you are!'' I thought, Wow, there's always going to be something tugging at your heartstrings, or your shame-string, or your purse-string. I think the best thing I could do...is to not just paper the walls with my image — I know the other side of that too, you know? You're the poster boy for this, you're the poster boy for that. I just would rather try to do this smart and not overexposed, if possible.

Well, good luck with that.
[Laughs]

Thank you so much for checking in with us.
My pleasure, and I'm stoked that you guys are following up on this. I honestly never thought I'd be having this conversation, so it's cool.


Posted May 06, 2008 | Order Article Reprints
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