With fan outcry continuing after Margot Robbie did not receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination, Robert Downey Jr. argues that the Barbie star isn’t getting the credit she deserves for the quality of her work in the film, detailing one standout scene in particular.
Barbie was one of the most talked about movies of the past year, and after Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig failed to land Oscar nominations for acting and directing, the conversation got even louder. Now, Robert Downey Jr. is weighing in on Robbie’s snub.
The moment came during an hour-long chat RDJ had with his fellow SAG Award nominees for Best Actor, Sterling K. Brown and Willem Dafoe. In the conversation, Downey Jr. gave props to Robbie, saying she’s not getting the credit she deserves for her work in the film.
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In particular, he pointed to one of the film’s most iconic scenes, and the one most agree cemented America Ferrera’s well-deserved Best Supporting Actress nomination. But while Ferrera gave a firey and impassioned speech, all Robbie did was listen.
But that’s what did it for Downey Jr. “I never tire of watching someone just listen on camera,” he told his fellow actors. “It never fails to impress and remind me how little you need to do to be effective.”
“Just the simplest version of expression, that’s what the camera wants,” he continued. “The closer the camera gets, the more it wants it. Time and time again, it’s demonstrated that it’s super effective.”
Obviously, a powerful speech is going to stand out and get noticed, but there is something equally powerful about those quiet moments, those moments of equally impassioned active listening. It’s something that could be considered even harder to pull off effectively.
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Downey Jr. had praise for both women in the scene. “America has this amazing speech. And by the way she nails it! I’m watching it and go, ‘Wow, that was a really tough one. That’s like a one act play. The whole movie hinges on it.'”
At the same time, he found himself equally impressed with her most prominent scene partner, who didn’t say a word. “It’s the cuts away to Robbie so actively listening that I realize Greta is really on to something here.”
He had to give full praise to Robbie for selling the scene as if she was hearing this impactful speech for the first time … even after probably having heard it delivered over and over again all day long.
While Robbie is not up for a Best Actress Oscar, she is still up for an award as a producer for the film’s Best Picture nomination. Barbie scored eight total Oscar nominations, with Gerwig landing one for Best Adapted Screenplay alongside Noah Baumbach.
Amid weeks of outcry, Robbie doesn’t seem nearly as upset as many of the film’s fans and even her colleagues are about her absence on the ballot.
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“There’s no way to feel sad when you know you’re this blessed,” she said at a screening of the film on Tuesday, per Deadline. “I just suspect it’s bigger than us. It’s bigger than this movie, it’s bigger than our industry.”
“We set out to do something that would shift culture, affect culture, just make some sort of impact and it’s already done that, and some, way more than we ever dreamed it would,” she continued. “And that is truly the biggest reward that could come out of all of this.”
She did, however, back the outcry over Gerwig getting snubbed, too. “Obviously I think Greta should be nominated as a director because what she did is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime thing, what she pulled off, it really is,” she argued.
Both Ferrera and fellow nominee Ryan Gosling, also spoke out in support of their film’s director, as well as its lead.
“There is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no ‘Barbie’ movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film,” said Gosling in a statement received by CNN after the nominations.
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“No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius,” he added. “To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.”
“What Margot achieved as an actress is truly unbelievable,” Ferrera told Variety, adding, “One of the things about Margot as an actress is how easy she makes everything look.”
“Perhaps people got fooled into thinking that the work seems easy, but Margot is a magician as an actress in front of the screen,” Ferrera continued, “and it was one of the honors of my career to get to witness her pull off the amazing performance she did. She brings so much heart and humor and depth and joy and fun to the character. In my book, she’s a master.”
The Best Supporting Actress nominee also heaped praise on her director, noting, “Greta has done just about everything that a director could do to deserve it. Creating this world, and taking something that didn’t have inherent value to most people and making it a global phenomenon. It feels disappointing to not see her on that list.”
The 96th Academy Awards air live on Sunday, March 10 at 7pm ET.
