Robert Downey Jr. poked fun at introvert Christopher Nolan during a speech on Thursday.
While presenting his Oppenheimer director with the Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award at the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday, the actor teased the British filmmaker about his social habits.
"He needs his spirits lifted - he's a bit blue because a terrible tragedy has befallen him," Downey Jr., 58, joked of Nolan. "I don't mean to bring this up, I know it's very personal, but he has become recognisable on the street."
The actor, who played Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer, quipped that he and Nolan had "become extremely close, as in we had dinner on location once".
Downey Jr. then revealed that Nolan had questioned whether "schmoozing" could ultimately be fatal.
"During this wildly social season in the wake of resounding global reaction to the Oppenheimer phenomenon, Chris and I shared a vulnerable moment of existential query," Downey Jr. said comically. "He placed his hand on my shoulder, got a little misty and whispered, 'I'm beginning to wonder, is it possible... death by schmoozing.'"
In December last year, Nolan told Empire that Oppenheimer, which became one half of the 2023 Barbenheimer craze, was the "most successful" film of his career.
"I've just made a three-hour film about Robert Oppenheimer, which is R-rated and half in black-and-white - and it made a billion dollars. Of course, I think films are doing great," he joked at the time. "The crazy thing is that it's literally the most successful film I've ever made."
While presenting his Oppenheimer director with the Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award at the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday, the actor teased the British filmmaker about his social habits.
"He needs his spirits lifted - he's a bit blue because a terrible tragedy has befallen him," Downey Jr., 58, joked of Nolan. "I don't mean to bring this up, I know it's very personal, but he has become recognisable on the street."
The actor, who played Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer, quipped that he and Nolan had "become extremely close, as in we had dinner on location once".
Downey Jr. then revealed that Nolan had questioned whether "schmoozing" could ultimately be fatal.
"During this wildly social season in the wake of resounding global reaction to the Oppenheimer phenomenon, Chris and I shared a vulnerable moment of existential query," Downey Jr. said comically. "He placed his hand on my shoulder, got a little misty and whispered, 'I'm beginning to wonder, is it possible... death by schmoozing.'"
In December last year, Nolan told Empire that Oppenheimer, which became one half of the 2023 Barbenheimer craze, was the "most successful" film of his career.
"I've just made a three-hour film about Robert Oppenheimer, which is R-rated and half in black-and-white - and it made a billion dollars. Of course, I think films are doing great," he joked at the time. "The crazy thing is that it's literally the most successful film I've ever made."