Robert Downey Jr. was having quite a nightmare when he first found out about his Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his role in Oppenheimer.
The actor, who has now been nominated for three Academy Awards, recounted to People magazine what he was going through the morning nominations were announced.
“I was having this nightmare that the kittens [Willow and Winifred] had taken one of my Nicorette wrappers, and I was going to get in trouble,” he told the publication, explaining that his wife, producer Susan Downey woke him to tell him the good news, and they celebrated the nomination together that day.
The Iron Man star, who portrayed former Atomic Energy Commission chairman Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer, shared that he FaceTimed his fellow supporting nominee Emily Blunt. He also noted that while getting a nomination is thrilling, the true prize for him was being able to spend time with his co-stars, including Blunt, Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon.
“The reward was the experience,” he said of working with them. “There is a bond and we have just huge respect for each other.”
Blunt echoed the sentiment to People, noting that she was simply happy they had each other. “I feel like we’ve been such a little gang of this Oppenheimer ride, which seems to be forever lasting and extends beyond what any of us dreamt of,” she said.
Christopher Nolan’s biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, landed 13 Oscar nominations this year — more than any other film of 2023. It marked the British filmmaker’s most nominated film and the first time he landed both best directing and writing noms in one year. Oppenheimer also received nominations for best picture, actor (Murphy), cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema) and more.
