“I found him heartbreaking at the time”: Robert Downey Jr.’s Marvel Co-Star Was Devastated Working With Iron Man Star in a Forgotten Movie That Sent Him Further Into Addiction

James Spader revealed that he was distraught seeing Downey Jr. in a terrible state when they worked together in the past.

Everyone is well-aware of the outstanding achievements that Robert Downey Jr. managed to amass in the film industry ever since he took on the role of Tony Stark in the first film of the MCU, which was none other than Iron Man. 

But as the saying goes, behind every successful man is a story, which in RDJ’s case, is filled with dark and destructive events and situations.
Robert Downey Jr. in a still from Oppenheimer
While his dark past is well documented and equally well-known, many might not know how his co-stars felt about working with him during those times. Shedding light on this, his co-star James Spader, who worked with him in 1987’s Less Than Zero, revealed that when he was on set with the star, his heart broke seeing him in such a terrible state.

James Spader Reveals How Awful He Felt About Robert Downey Jr. When He Worked With Him In The Past

James Spader as Raymond Reddington in a still from The Blacklist
Before he became one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and across the globe, along with recently winning his first Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer, Robert Downey Jr. was once known as the dark horse of the industry because of his rampant drug abuse and law violation problems.

To paint a picture of just how much the star had self-depreciated during that time, James Spader once revealed how he felt when he first worked with him in the past.

Working with the Tropic Thunder star in his 1987 thriller/drama film Less Than Zero, with Spader playing Rip in the film, he revealed that when he first looked at him during the star’s dark times, his heart broke for him watching him in that state, especially since Downey Jr. was playing the role of an addict (via Esquire). And his make-up with patches and dead skin wasn’t helping him either. He said:

“I found him heartbreaking in Less Than Zero, and I found him heartbreaking at the time.”

But as luck would have it, RDJ changed for the better in the coming years, and when they next met on the sets of Avengers: Age of Ultron, where Spader played the role of the titular antagonist, The Blacklist actor would’ve no doubt been proud of what the star had achieved.

What Was Less Than Zero About?

A still from Less Than Zero
The role of an out-of-control drug addict in Less Than Zero is sometimes heavily considered by most to be an autobiographical performance by RDJ, which reflected some parts of his real life back then.

The film tells the tale of a young man named Clay, who has just retuned to his hometown of Los Angeles, where he finds his former lover, Blair, and his good buddy, Julian, addicted to cocaine, and abuse it on the daily. Thus, in an attempt to save them from this self-destruction, he takes it upon himself to make them sober, which is hindered by Julian’s dealer, Rip, who has Julian indebted to him.