Robert Downey Jnr:I'm a pain in the ass

April 12, 2010
Robert Downey Jr. wants
to kick your ass! Well okay
maybe not, but if you
mess with him, he will.
Downey graces the cover
of the May issue of Men's
Journal in which he talks
about his undying devotion to Wing Chun, a
martial arts discipline which helped him find
his focus and resurrect his career.
Here are some highlights from the interview:
On being an actor: “This is still art for
commerce, at best. I consider myself to be a
pain-in-the-ass artist who’s self-aware
enough to still be tolerable. While I have a
little bit of juice, I try not to rub it in anyone’s
face, because it’s just disgusting. And I use
the term ‘artist’ loosely.”
On advice for practicing Wing Chun, a
martial arts discipline: “Seriously, don’t
worry about looking like an idiot. It’s like life:
The less self-conscious you are, the better it
works. And remember, lots of ice and Advil
afterward. Trust me on that one.”
On how Wing Chun helps him cope: “This is
all about focus. Wing Chun teaches you what
to concentrate on, whether you’re here or
out in the world dealing with problems. It’s
second nature for me now. I don’t even get
to the point where there’s a problem.”
On being reluctant to punch a stuntman full
in the mouth while filming Sherlock
Holmes: “I was like, ‘I can’t or he’s not going
to be able to play with his kids this
weekend.’ And Guy (Ritchie) was basically
saying, ‘He doesn’t have any kids.’?”
On if he is worried about burnout from
filming and promoting films: “You don’t
worry about something that has already
happened,” he says with resignation. “You
don’t need to worry about your car breaking
down when you’re already on the side of
the street with the hood up. Worrying is
done. The hubcaps have already come off
going around the corners.”
Guy Ritchie, on working with the actor:
“The word to describe Robert is hard. I know
that’s f*cking ridiculous in describing an
actor, but he really can scrap. He’s done time
in jail, which didn’t exactly soften him up. He
has a real physicality that is pretty f*cking
amazing.”