And now for a video of RDJ walking out mid-interview:
(Fast-fwd to the last minute or so)
Verdict?
I would’ve done the same damned thing.
The thing is, the interviewer is so equally parts transparent-in-his-motives and too-nervous-to-execute-’em, that the whole boiling pot of awkwardness just simmers down to Downey trying not to watch him through facepalm fingers as he struggles for the right words like a fish struggling for aqueous nourishment after wandering onto the shore. Yes. It’s like that. Sure, the interviewer’s job is to generate a reaction. Get the story. Get a story nobody else is doing that makes it worthy of the coveted media title: Exclusive. And, to his credit, he got it. Anytime an A lister prematurely exits an on the record convo, it’s gonna end up in my side newsfeed like it did today.
But why – when it’s so warranted? Is it ’cause they’re trying to make it something it’s not?
Like he Hulk’d out? Which he didn’t?
(But probably wanted to superbad)
While I’ve never been famous, I think I “get” how and why so many actors lose their patience and get so flippant.
I mean, there arrives a point where it’s gotta be hard to treat an interviewer like a human at all. Because they don’t really treat you (presuming you’re a star, reading this – which my ego assumes obviously happens at least once a day; John Travolta just sat naked at a lap top between cabana boy massages reading MissAshleyPants out loud to Tom Cruise who’s still not done with his 90 minute craniosacral in the far corner of the same room) like a human being. By the time they’ve got you in their chair, their cognitive corridor has narrowed into a single directive – extract the most titillating story that possibly exists, at any cost – from face-saving to your soul itself. I assume Rob probably said something before the interview – whether in written list form through a third party or verbally – about the stuff he didn’t wanna discuss. Actors do this beforehand so they don’t hafta go through the trouble of looking douchey or furtive when they’re actually on camera later by saying, “No comment” or “Next question” or “I have to return some video tapes…” (will one of you please use that one for the love of Glob? I’ve yet to see Bale bail on an interview himself and do that – but if he did I could die happy). Thus, when an interviewer knows better but just completely eschews empathy of any kind for the person sitting in front of them by breaking that understood and agreed upon contract, I imagine he’s thinking “MMMkay, all bets are off now. I obviously can’t reason with you. And since I don’t trust you anymore – now that you’ve brought up the stuff I asked not to – I don’t wanna.”
There are some people who don’t mind discussing this stuff. You can ask Russell Brand all day long about his junkie past and he’ll gladly indulge you. He’s an open book. And that’s admirable. But for many, that’s not where they’re at, and that’s fine. That’s their thing. It’s their life. Their privacy. Downey did his best at offering what he could about an under-the-influence quote he made (they always make sense at the time, don’t they?) but after the interviewer didn’t get what he wanted emotionally from him, he brought out a poorly warmed fire poker to try prodding away. By talking about his dad and his habit and stuff. In the end, the only pain I could see in RobDow’s eyes was the kinda confusion-cocktail pain you feel when you’re hearing someone try to issue insults and they rapidfire fail in lieu.
Laugh? Have pity? Kick them while they’re down? Where do you start?
Downey did what he should – leave when the vibes start to get bad.
But here’s a protip for the other dude:
I’m not an interviewer. But you know what I am? Curious. Genuinely. What do you do? Why? What made you get into it? You answer, I listen, and I wanna learn more about what you just said instead of asking what I was just about to. I wasn’t always this way. In fact, there are many days still that I’m not until I actually start a convo snowball rolling. But when I gave up other recreational activities that were like the “lite” version of an early RDJ himself, people suddenly became a lot more interesting to me. And you know what’s weird? People like it – and you – better when you’re legit interested in them and don’t just have your own agenda. This works whether it’s spontaneous or within the parameters of your career. You wanna be a good interviewer? Get people to react? Don’t put up your fear-of-not-getting-the-story wall so much that you forget you’re connecting with a human being.
‘cause it’ll make them put up their Ironman guard.
Every damned time.