Where do you go from playing one of modern cinema’s most famous roles? That’s the question that Robert Downey Jr., star of many Marvel films (in which he donned the persona of Tony Stark AKA Iron Man), had to ask himself. It turns out that the answer is not just one role; it’s many roles at the same time. It’s been announced that Downey Jr., who also starred as Sherlock Holmes and Dolittle in recent movies of the same names, will play multiple roles in HBO’s upcoming show, The Sympathizer.
Adapted from a novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller movie about a French-Vietnamese communist spy at the end of the Vietnam War as he lives in the United States in exile. Downey Jr. will play a number of roles, including a CIA agent, a Hollywood film director, and a Congressman from Orange County, CA. According to reports, Downey Jr. decided to take The Sympathizer project because the prospect of playing multiple villains was interesting. Not that being involved in Hollywood or federal government is exactly angelic all of the time, either. Oh, a bit too topical? The production company, A24, is currently looking for another big-name actor/actress to play the lead alongside Robert Downey Jr.
Park Chan-wook has been named as the showrunner of The Sympathizer alongside Don McKellar. Right now, we don’t know any more details about who will be appearing in The Sympathizer or when it will air, but we’ll keep you updated. Moving on from a big-time role like Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe can always be tough, but we always will look forward to whatever Robert Downey Jr. does next.
What do you think of this announcement? Does Robert Downey Jr.’s involvement in The Sympathizer make you want to watch it when it eventually comes out? Leave a comment down below.