“I’ve got to have a better English accent than Jude Law”: Robert Downey Jr Will Never Forget His Horrible Failed Audition for a Jack Black Movie

SUMMARY

• Heading into the audition for The Holiday, Robert Downey Jr was fairly confident about his English accent.
• However, the actor dropped the ball and was called out by Kate Winslet.
• But RDJ bounced back years later, as he went on to deliver a convincing British accent as Sherlock Holmes.

While Robert Downey Jr’s career was largely dictated by his association with the MCU in the 2010s, his brilliance as Tony Stark is only one aspect of the actor’s expertise in the medium. Being a recipient of three Oscar nods, RDJ hasn’t shied away from putting his abilities to the test, whether it be mastering the Australian accent for Tropic Thunder or the British one for Sherlock Holmes.

Robert Downey Jr | Credit: Sherlock Holmes/Warner Bros. Pictures)

But while the Oscar winner hasn’t dropped the ball when it comes to tackling other accents onscreen, his initial foray to deliver an English accent went horribly wrong, which ended up costing him the 2006 rom-com.

Kate Winslet Was Appalled by Robert Downey Jr’s English Accent

Kate Winslet in The Holiday | Credit: Universal Pictures

Pre-Iron Man and Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey Jr auditioned to star in 2006’s The Holiday, starring Kate Winslet. Heading into the audition, the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang star was fairly optimistic, as the actor was hellbent on delivering a better English accent than Jude Law, who’d eventually nab the gig.

But things didn’t turn out well for the Oppenheimer star, as during his reading with the actress, the Titanic star made sure to show RDJ a mirror, stressing “That was the worst British accent I’ve ever heard”.

Robert Downey Jr | Credit: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang/Warner Bros.

RDJ recalled:

We both got called in just as seat fillers…[director Nancy Meyers] needed someone to read with the gals and we’re sitting there going, ‘It’s about to happen for us.’ And I was like, ‘I’ve got to have a better English accent than Jude Law at this point.’ And Winslet said, ‘That was the worst British accent I’ve ever heard.’ And I was like, ‘I’ll check out now, but I’m taking the gummy bears from the minibar.’

The Iron Man star wasn’t the only actor who didn’t make it past the audition process, as similar was the case with Jimmy Fallon, who lost the gig of Miles to Jack Black. As for the movie, despite not being a critical darling, the rom-com did fairly well, making over $205M at the box office.

Sherlock Holmes 3 Is a Priority for Robert Downey Jr per Producers

A still from Sherlock Holmes | Credit: Warner Bros.

On the bright side, RDJ made sure to bounce back in the following years, as he went on to deliver a convincing British accent for his outing as Sherlock Holmes. As for the franchise’s future, which has been sitting on ice for over a decade, last year, producers Susan Downey and Amanda Burrell revealed that the threequel is a priority for the Iron Man star.

Here’s what I can tell you… Prior to this we had lunch together with Robert… It was a very specific topic of conversation, so yes. It is in the hopper. We’re gonna do it when it’s right with the right people but it is a priority for the company and a priority for Robert.

While time will tell what the future holds for RDJ’s Sherlock Holmes, seeing how far the actor has come since being turned down for The Holiday is truly astonishing.

The Holiday is available to rent on Apple TV.

Written by Santanu Roy

Articles Published: 1752

Santanu Roy is a film enthusiast with a deep love for the medium of animation while also being obsessed with The Everly Brothers, Billy Joel, and The Platters. Having expertise in everything related to Batman, Santanu spends most of his time watching and learning films, with Martin Scorsese and Park Chan-wook being his personal favorites. Apart from pursuing a degree in animation, he also possesses a deep fondness for narrative-driven games and is currently a writer at Fandomwire with over 1500 articles.