Robert Downey Jnr. storms out of interview
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An interview between Robert Downey Jnr., best known for his role as Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Krishnan Guru-Murthy came to an abrupt end when the bespectacled journalist began enquiring about the actor’s time in prison and his relationship with his father.
The interview, which took place on Britain’s Channel 4, was meant to help promote Downey Jnr.’s latest film, Avengers: Age of Ultron. However, when the questions suddenly turned to his prison experiences – he spent almost a year in the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran in 2000 – things became awkward.
Downey Jnr. declined to explain a comment that he made during an interview with the New York Times when he said that: “You can’t go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal,” by saying that saying it made sense at the time.
He clarified by saying: “I could pick that apart for two hours and be no closer to the truth than giving you some half-assed answer right now. I couldn’t even tell you what a liberal is,” before suggesting that his opinions had changed since the original interview.
At this point, Downey Jnr. became noticeably uncomfortable with the line of questioning and asked if they were promoting a movie, no doubt trying to convince Guru-Murthy to change the line of enquiry. Instead, he continued to press into Downey Jnr.’s personal life. He asked about his relationship with his father and the role that relationship played in his past as an addict. Instead of answering, Downey Jnr. shook his head, said “I’m sorry, I really don’t…what are we doing?” and walked out of the interview.
This is not the first time that Guru-Murthy’s style has led to conflict with those he’s interviewing. In January 2013, during an interview with Quentin Tarantino, he asked the director to consider the possibility of a link between violence in films and real-life atrocities in America, prompting Tarantino to reply: “I refuse your question. I’m not your slave and you’re not my master. You can’t make me dance to your tune. I’m not a monkey.”
Downey Jnr’s latest film, Avengers: Age of Ultron was released on Thursday April 23, 2015. You can find Roobla’s review, written by Sammy Jo-Shaw, here.
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