Robert Downey Jr.'s Oscar Winning Performance In Oppenheimer Didn't Come Cheap

September 23, 2024

Highlights

Downey Jr. made $4 million for his supporting role in Oppenheimer, along with co-stars Emily Blunt and Matt Damon.
Director Christopher Nolan scored the biggest salary for Oppenheimer, rumored to be around $72 million.
Downey Jr. brought home $75 million for Avengers: Endgame, a huge chunk of his staggering $435 million from Iron Man.

Robert Downey Jr. has made some career mistakes. He hinted at a failed biopic with Jason Bateman, and he had lots of other demons behind the camera. Nonetheless, the actor is a tremendous story of persistence, and he's once again on top of Hollywood following his victory in the Best Supporting category, which featured massive names like Ryan Gosling and Robert De Niro.

In the following, we'll take a closer look at his pay for the role, and how much the rest of the cast made. In addition, we'll reveal his highest paying role, and the character that brought him the most money of his career.

Let's take a closer look.

Margot Robbie Disses Cillian Murphy’s ‘Oppenheimer’ After Her Box Office Success

Margot thinks the hype around the Barbenheimer phenomenon was "weird," but admits she didn't even think her movie would be that big in general.

Robert Downey Jr. Reportedly Made $4 Million For His Supporting Role In Oppenheimer

The cast of Oppenheimer made quite the salary for the film. It stars with Oscar-winner Robert Downey Jr., who bagged a cool $4 million.

His co-stars Emily Blunt and Matt Damon were also paid the same for their supporting roles. Cillian Murphy scored big with $10 million. However, the biggest salary went to director Christopher Nolan. The exact terms weren't disclosed, but it was rumored to be in the vicinity of $72 million.

Oppenheimer Might Not Have Been Made If It Wasn't For Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson had a unique influence on the making of the Oppenheimer film.

Having Downey Jr. back on the big screen feels good, but according to his words with Vulture, taking on the film was a no-brainer from the start.

"He asked if I’d like to come over to his house and read a script. There is no version of an answer to that question that doesn’t start with a “y,” and I don’t mean “why” with a question mark," he said about meeting Christopher Nolan.

"Then he asked me if I was at all familiar with the character or the subject matter. It has been a longtime contemplation, verging on obsession, of mine: mid-century Cold War and all the characters involved. I had a previous fair understanding of Strauss because I was fascinated with the mechanics of warfare, particularly in the Pacific theater in World War II. The first time I saw his name in print was regarding the proximity fuze and its development."

We can safely say Downey Jr.'s trust in Nolan worked out pretty well. As he said in his Oscars speech, he needed the film more than the film needed him.

It Was Far From Robert Downey Jr.'s Biggest Pay, As He Brought Home $75 Million For Avengers: Endgame

Robert Downey Jr. is enjoying major critical success with his recent work. However, it is far from his biggest pay. Not even close.

According to Business Insider,Downey Jr. made around $435 million thanks to Iron Man. A big chunk of that came in Avengers: Endgame. The actor was paid $75 million for the role thanks to a huge backend deal.

Business Insider writes, "The actor had a base pay of $20 million for the movie. Because of its huge box-office success, he then took in an additional $55 million on the backend."

Quite the sum as the actor continues to enjoy success all these years later on the biggest stages in Hollywood.

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