During the TV special “Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons”, Arnold Schwarzenegger linked to the speech given by Robert Downey Jr. on Oscar night, where he won as best supporting actor for Oppenheimer.
What they have in common Arnold Schwarzenegger And Robert Downey Jr.? Both gave life to iconic characters in the history of cinema, of course. But there is also something else more intimate and profound that unites them: a difficult childhood. It was the 76-year-old star who underlined this analogy during the special Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons. The documentary, branded TMZfeatured Schwarzy starring alongside Sylvester Stallone.
For the first time, the two Hollywood legends openly discussed their proverbial rivalry, but they also looked back at their childhoods and talked about their relationships with their respective families. Asked about this by the moderator Harvey LevinSchwarzenegger linked directly to the speech given by Robert Downey Jr. to Oscars 2024
. On that unforgettable night, the star took home the statuette as best supporting actor, for the role of Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer Of Christopher Nolan.
The acceptance speech was perhaps even more awaited than the announcement of the victory. The star of Iron Manin fact, dominated the awards season by punctually giving the public entertaining and ingenious speeches, which promptly became viral on social media. On stage Dolby Theatre, Downey Jr. began by thanking “my terrible childhood and the Academy, in exactly that order.” Then he joked: “I would like to thank my vet, I mean wife, Susan Downey over there. She found me, a wild puppy to save, and brought me back to life. That’s why I’m here. Thank you.”
The former governor of California he in turn has memories of his youth that were anything but pleasant. The bodybuilding champion grew up in Austria with a war veteran father, described as a ‘tyrant’, violent and with an alcohol problem. Also, in 1971, his older brother Meinhard he lost his life in a car accident, himself under the influence of alcohol. “I could immediately identify with this – commented Schwarzenegger alluding to Downey Jr.’s speech – Because [Robert, ndr] He went through hardship and pain. I don’t know her exact story. But for him to thank his crappy childhood means that it motivated him and pushed him to go in a different direction instead of staying in that crappy upbringing.”
The star of Terminators he continued to reflect, finding a positive side in the difficulties he experienced at a young age. If everything had gone right, she probably wouldn’t have cut off from her roots and written a new chapter in her life from scratch.
If I had grown up like some people do, with all the love in the world, I would never have left home. I would have stayed in Austria. It’s not the kind of life that would make me happy… I think what drove me was the need to create my own world: I needed to get out of that misery at home. It was a blessing in a way.
Sylvester Stallone he echoed: “You and I had no choice. We were going to do something. You ran away into bodybuilding, I ran away into theater, because I wasn’t too happy with reality. I said, ‘This is my world, because I don’t like reality.”
