Robert Downey Jr. Finally Opens Up About His Dolittle Regrets

After a decade of playing Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Robert Downey Jr. became the most sought-after name in Hollywood, and he will soon appear in one of this summer's most anticipated movies, the Christopher Nolan-directed "Oppenheimer." However, some of the roles the veteran performer picked in the wake of 2019's "Avengers: Endgame" panned out to be total flops. None fit that bill more than "Dolittle," which was lambasted by critics and fared poorly at the box office. Now, the actor has admitted the movie wasn't what he'd hoped, calling the film a "squandered opportunity."

Speaking to The New York Times Magazine, Downey admitted that "Dolittle," the 2020 reboot about a veterinarian who can speak to animals, was a proverbial dog's breakfast of an experience. The actor regrets rushing into a new franchise before taking into account how it was being constructed. "I finished the Marvel contract and then hastily went into what had all the promise of being another big, fun, well-executed potential franchise in 'Dolittle,'" Downey said. "I had some reservations," he noted. "Me and my team seemed a little too excited about the deal and not quite excited enough about the merits of the execution."

But RDJ, as fans call him, forged ahead nonetheless. "At that point I was bulletproof," he said. Even so, he calls "Dolittle" the second most important movie he's ever made.

While opening up to The New York Times Magazine about his post-Marvel career, Robert Downey Jr. admitted to having some regrets about the massive commercial and critical flop that was 2020's "Dolittle." But in the same breath, the actor called that movie the second most important film he's ever made, not because he thinks it's better than it got credit for, but because it put things in perspective for him.

In fact, from the way he speaks about it, it's clear that Downey sees "Dolittle" as a blemish on his otherwise stratospheric career. "The second most important film was 'Dolittle,'" he told the Times, "because 'Dolittle' was a two-and-a-half year wound of squandered opportunity."

In addition to the time Robert Downey Jr. wasted on "Dolittle," he regrets the strain it put on his wife, Susan Downey, who co-produced the family comedy. It seems she saw its failure coming a mile away and worked tirelessly to do preemptive damage control. "The stress it put on my missus as she rolled her sleeves up to her armpits to even make it serviceable enough to bring to market was shocking," Downey said.

But ultimately, Robert and Susan Downey found a silver lining in the failure of "Dolittle," viewing it as an opportunity to straighten out their business. "We had this reset of priorities," Robert Downey Jr. explained, "and made some changes in who our closest business advisors were."

Since "Dolittle," Downey has avoided entering another franchise and has begun to take character roles. Fans can catch him next in "Oppenheimer," where Robert Downey Jr. plays the film's antagonist, historical figure Lewis Strauss, the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.