Robert Downey Jr.’s Best Performance Isn’t as Iron Man, It’s This

The Big Picture

• Robert Downey Jr.’s role in
  Zodiac
  showcases his versatility as an actor beyond his iconic Marvel role.
• Downey’s portrayal of Paul Avery is a blend of whimsy, wit, and emotional depth that adds a unique layer to the film.
• Downey’s characters often present a choice for others to join him or not, and
  Zodiac
  is no exception, with Avery leading his colleagues on a dark path of research.

Most younger movie-going audiences know Robert Downey Jr. for his spot-on performance as the unofficial MCU leader, Iron Man. While he deserves all the credit that he has garnered for setting the Marvel Cinematic Universe on its upward trajectory in 2008, Downey has several more roles that probably better reflect the dynamic actor’s versatility. Most recently, he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer.

But one of his most underrated and underseen performances came as Paul Avery in master filmmaker David Fincher‘s taut psychological thriller Zodiac in 2007 — just a year before he would set the cinema world on fire with his trailblazing Marvel role. Downey is always at his finest when he’s working at breakneck speed and like a dog chasing his own tail. Luckily for us, that’s exactly the way he is in this film, which is based on a true story of the serial killer that terrorized Northern California in the late 1960s and into the ’70s.

What Is David Fincher’s ‘Zodiac’ About?

Beginning in 1968, a masked assailant began killing young people in and around the Bay Area in California. What made this “Zodiac” serial killer so unique was his need for attention and toying with the media. They would send ciphers to members of the press including the newsmen of The San Francisco Chronicle to taunt them about who they really were and when they might kill again. One of the journalists working at the paper at that time was Paul Avery, a crime-beat writer who ended up knee-deep in the mystery and terror that the Zodiac killer brought for a period of over ten years in total.

Downey brings his patented dose of whimsy to the character of Avery including the rapier-like wit that we see in Tony Stark and the silver tongue of many of his other roles. As Avery, his easy-going boozy lifestyle is quickly turned upside down as the Zodiac remains one step ahead of him and taunts the newsman for years. The beauty of this performance and what makes it a bit of an outlier is that Downey also brings an emotionally wrought level to Avery that is consistent with the very bleak and heinous tone of the film.

What Makes Robert Downey Jr. So Good in ‘Zodiac’?

Newsroom banter done right can produce some of the most entertaining and fast-paced dialogue in film. There is something about the up-tempo urgency to the delivery that makes for some real edge-of-your-seat thrills, and the actors involved typically have to be quick, clever, and articulate. Sound like someone you know? Downey Jr. was born to play a reporter (he also nails it as a shock journalist in Natural Born Killers), and he really delivers some hard-hitting and poignant moments in a dark film that serves as the perfect counterbalance to the normal, light-hearted elements that he routinely brings to a project.

The back and forth between Avery and cartoonist-turned-cipher solver Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) are the best exchanges in the film. Avery is the bibulous and jaded veteran that serves as the perfect sounding board for the eager but out-of-his-element Graysmith. These two play off each other like All the President’s Men‘s Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, and it’s a pleasure to watch.

Robert Downey Jr. Knows How to Spiral Downward

We’ve seen Downey Jr. characters do a hard downward spiral before. His heartbreaking portrayal of Julian in the 1987 hit Less Than Zero was a breakout performance for the young actor. In it, he becomes addicted to crack cocaine and eventually loses everything, including his life. So when Avery starts to hit the booze hard after years of coming up short trying to catch the taunting serial killer, he begins to routinely cope with the bottle. Avery becomes a recluse, living on a houseboat and drinking himself into a stupor before drinking some more. We all know some of the issues that the resilient performer has dealt with in his personal life, and maybe he is so good as a beaten-down washout because of some of the hard experiences he has gone through. Whatever it is, he nails the part of Avery, and Fincher more than likely knew what he could expect when he cast Downey in the role.

Many of Robert Downey Jr.’s Movies Have a Common Theme

In many Robert Downey Jr. movies, there comes a crucial point in the story where you have to decide whether to join Downey’s character on whatever trajectory he is on, good or bad. In Oppenheimer, he will play a divisive but powerful politician who promotes a certain agenda that some follow and others reject (sound familiar?). J. Robert Oppenheimer has to make the choice. In Less Than Zero, he was pulling his friends into the dark abyss of addiction, and they had to make the choice not to follow. In the MCU, Tony Stark inherently has a way of placing a very binary choice of good vs. evil in front of his eventual allies and enemies.

Most of Downey’s best roles share this theme. He has such an infectious personality that lets the audience know that he is always a leader and never a follower. He marches to the beat of his own drum and offers others the option of either joining or not. You’re either with him or you are against him. In Zodiac, similar to his role as Julian in Less Than Zero, Downey’s portrayal of Avery is a character that gives his newsroom colleague Robert Graysmith a choice. Follow him into the depths of alcoholic despair and become a washout or don’t. Either way, he is going to proceed as planned.

Zodiac is available to watch on Paramount+ in the U.S.

Watch on Paramount+