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Did you and Robert Downey Jr hang out off the set?
“Our hanging out is off set. We’re a weird collection of molecules, me and him. We get together and there’s camaraderie; there’s a brotherhood that’s formed. I don’t know from where. Yeah, we hung out a lot.”
What did you two do?
“We went running. We went shopping. We played music.”
Where did you go shopping?
“Up in Lone Pine and department stores and grocery stores - we were real people.
We talked about life’s issues together. He has similar situations with a new wife and an ex-wife that he’s fiducially responsible to and emotionally responsible to. I have the same thing. We‘ve traveled down so many parallel roads, you know, that I love that man. I love him.”
Did you guys give each other tips the whole time?
“Oh, completely. There were times when Robert would be stuck and I would be like, ‘Do this right here, just try it,’ because I’m watching from the third person. I don’t have the pressure of making a decision and Robert would do the same thing with me. Like, ‘You know what you should do right here…just do it, dude. Just do it. I’m going to follow you.’ Same thing with Gwyneth [Paltrow]. Gwyneth remembers everything right away. [She has a] photographic memory. She can look at the new pages that we wrote, we spent six hours rewriting these three new pages, she will read it once and not miss one word getting in front of the camera. Shortest takes in the world.”
How great is it when a movie gives you so much beyond the script and shooting?
“Yeah, well, that’s Jon Favreau that gave us that.
Because of him being an improvisational actor, he directed it in an improvisational way and he’s a brilliant man. He can think at the speed of light. But he’s also humble enough to recognize the genius of other people. When Jeff Bridges would have an idea, immediately, Jon is like, ‘If it’s great, it’s viable. We’ll spend three hours making it work.’ With Robert, the same thing. With Gwyneth, the same thing. With me little ideas that I thought wasn’t even important, he would rally behind and do whatever they had to do to make it work. And no ego, no ego’s on this film.”
What did you think of the footage?
“I thought the footage was incredible because it was real. This is without the special effects, the CGI, other than flying. Everything else was pretty much straightforward and I can’t wait to add the CGI into that.”
Are you ready to see yourself immortalized in plastic as an action figure?
“I would like that.”
Will you play with yourself?
“Will I play with myself? I’ve done that once or twice before but now that I’ll have a little buddy to play with, a little bullet, yeah, I think I’m going to play with myself.”
The Hunting Party movie you’re in with Richard Gere, is that based on a true story?
“Yes. It’s a story of what took place in Serbia and Croatia and Bosnia with the war lord that had been - it’s almost like Iron Man in a sense, because the same way Iron Man jumps up and makes himself available to handle things that most governments will not touch because of their political and duplicitous actions. I mean, I get to go and track down a war lord in that and Tony tracks down and fights a war lord in this. We’re doing some socially conscience things now.”