Downey praised for playing black actor

Robert Downey Jr. is earning praise for his portrayal of a white actor who plays an African-American character in the movie within a movie in Tropic Thunder.

To be honest, he played a black dude better than anybody I've seen, Downey's African-American Tropic Thunder co-star Brandon T. Jackson told People.com. When I first read the script, I was like: What? Black face? But when I saw (Downey act) he, like, became a black man.

Directed by Ben Stiller and co-starring Jack Black, the big-screen comedy features Downey as an Oscar-winning actor who takes on a role in the most expensive Vietnam war movie in cinematic history, then dyes his skin when he hears his character was originally written as an African-American.

It was just good acting, Jackson told People.com. It was weird on the set because he would keep going with the character. He's a Method actor.

Downey also starred in the recent blockbuster Iron Man.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

Publication date: 22 July 2008

Source: UPI-1-20080722-11591100-bc-us-downey.xml

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