Robert Downey Jr. Talks His Return as Super Sleuth Sherlock Holmes

It was clear that Robert Downey Jr. was having a helluva good time at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills at the start of the press conference for his newest film, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.”  He joked with the media in attendance that he had changed his clothes for the third time that day, but if it was true, it was worth it. He looked movie-star handsome in his matching shirt and slacks with his hair a bit tousled as he took his seat front-row center.

Of course, those who have seen the film know that Downey’s joke may have been alluding to the many costume changes he made as Sherlock went undercover in “A Game of Shadows.” In the opening sequence, he dresses up as an old Chinese gentleman, and later, he takes a page from Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in “Some Like it Hot,” donning women’s clothing.

There was much good-natured teasing about who he resembled in drag. His wife Susan, one of the producers on the film — who is also pregnant with their first child, a boy [He has a son from a previous relationship] — commented that Downey’s assistant thought he looked like Robert Smith, the lead singer for The Cure, but Susan felt he reminded her of Tony Curtis. Downey, himself got in on the action, saying, “I thought I looked like Alfred — Arnold Schwarzenegger’s dwarf brother. That’s what I thought I looked like.”

“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” is the second film starring Downey as the dedicated, deductive detective and Jude Law as the indispensible Dr. Watson, and, happily, it introduces one of Holmes’ most dastardly foes and the only one who is truly his intellectual equal: Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris).

The story goes like this: Around the globe, headlines break the news: a scandal takes down an Indian cotton tycoon; a Chinese opium trader dies of an apparent overdose; bombings in Strasbourg and Vienna; the death of an American steel magnate… No one sees the connective thread between these seemingly random events—no one, that is, except the great Sherlock Holmes, who has discerned a deliberate web of death and destruction. At its center sits a singularly sinister spider: Moriarty. Holmes’ investigation into Moriarty’s plot becomes more dangerous as it leads him and Watson out of London to France, Germany and finally Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead, and moving perilously close to completing his ominous plan. If he succeeds, it will not only bring him immense wealth and power but alter the course of history.

In this interview, Downey, who enjoyed not giving a straight answer to many a question, talks about taking on such an iconic role, working with Harris and his bromance with Jude Law.

Before we get into the movie, any comment on your pending fatherhood? A second son?

Yes. I can’t wait.

Can you talk about your transformation into the lovely woman you became in the movie and what it involved?

So, I guess we are not talking about this being one of the most important films of the year? I put on some makeup.

Piggybacking off you transforming into a woman, I read a rumor in the National Enquirer that you and Jude were doing “Some Like it Hot.” Was that what Guy Ritchie was directing?

How are we going to get nominated with those kinds of questions? That is called “Act Two of Sherlock.”

Did you and Jude do a lot of adlibbing on the set that Guy ended up using and did you do a lot of physical training because there were more physical challenges?

You know, I think the goal is to make a well-written scene seem like it is improvised, and/or to come up with things that you find in the room that you couldn’t have known until you get into the real situation — just try to improve things as you go along. Jude, by the way, would have been here but his son had a soccer game. And as far as me being in shape, I think you and I should probably talk about that for a half an hour, as it is my favorite topic.

At its core, this movie is about a friendship between Holmes and Watson. Have you ever had that kind of guy/guy friendship or bromance?

Well, Jude and I are pretty close. But Guy and I are practically brothers, which makes things really interesting. There have been times when I’ve wanted to lop off his head with a machete. But it’s just because I love [him] so much. You know what I mean?

You also seemed to have a great rapport with Jared. How was working together?

He would come in and we’d have a scene that he’s shooting in two days, and he’d be like, “Is this going to pretty much stay like this?” I was like, ‘Not a word of it.’ He was, ‘Can I have something that I can study the night before?’ I was like, ‘I’m going to venture a no on the possibility of yes.’ And it would be like that…

Then there would be stuff where we were all in a group with the fight team and he’d come in and it would be like, ‘Okay, we’re going to do this.’ And Guy was introducing something that the stunt team had found kind of by accident — a way of shooting something super, super, super slow as opposed to the phantom stuff we had done before. The next thing you know, he’s doing a rehearsal scene… Everything Jared Harris did in the course of making this movie was essentially thrown at him with very little time to prepare… So it was shock and awe. And I think what he brought back with it was something that so particularly him and the essence of him while still being this character. It honestly is the main reason that the movie works. But it was also an exercise in trial-by-fire for him.

And he was really quite nice. Once in awhile he would say, “I really just beg of you. If I could even have a semblance of knowing what I might say, I guarantee you I could do a better job with it.” … And I’d be like, “Interesting. Yeah, everyone has their own process.”

Can you talk about recreating this iconic character and maybe taking it to another level? What the challenge was, especially with all the new disguises?

After the first film worked out pretty good, we were doing the press tour and were talking about things we would like to improve, other directions we could go, blah, blah, blah and this is the reality of doing it. Anybody who has ever been involved in making the second part to a first work, there should be a whole online support team for this. We were just speaking about this over lunch. There is so much to learn. I think the greatest disguise was us disguising ourselves as consummate, by-the-numbers professionals when we are all incredibly eccentric and Warner Bros. has given us the opportunity to try do something complicated.

You took a risk to take on a classic character like Holmes and color outside the lines of how the public knew him. So what are the sorts of things you keep in mind as you try to stick to the basics of Sherlock, but also blow it up?

Well, you just keep [Sir Arthur Conan] Doyle in mind. Because I just respect the guy more and more. And I think the other thing is that oftentimes what’s required, particularly if you’re in any central position, is you just have to let go. You have to let go of the things that are darling to you. You have to take the focus off of yourself and put it on the shape of the scene and the intention of whatever everyone else needs.

Having done two of these now, do you feel a sense of ownership towards Sherlock? Do you have any interest in the other actor’s portrayals, such as Basil Rathbone or Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays him in the BBC modernized series?

Yeah, just kind of like everybody. Whenever I watch someone doing something even if it doesn’t turn out so great, I at least admire their intentions, and I know that there’s some kind of quintessential performances that have happened out there. I’ve heard more about the series than I’ve seen. But I’m intrigued by it. And I think it’s important that we’re all part of the same collective of honoring this great writer and his stories.

“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” opens in theaters Friday, Dec. 16.

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