Robert Downey Jr. lost his chance at starring in the Nancy Meyers cinematic universe.
The Marvel actor revealed during SiriusXM’s “The Howard Stern Show” that he auditioned for 2006 romantic comedy “The Holiday” to star opposite Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. Downey went out for the role of a British single father who falls in love with Diaz’s character while she is in the English countryside after swapping houses with a stranger. Jude Law was eventually cast.
“We both got called in just as seat-fillers and we saw each other,” Downey said during an interview alongside Jimmy Fallon, who auditioned to play Winslet’s love interest before Jack Black was cast. “Jack Black is getting his part and Jude Law is definitely getting my part, but [Meyers] needed someone to read with the gals, and we’re sitting there going, ‘It’s about to happen for us.’”
Despite being “confident” that he and Fallon were “shoo-ins” for their respective parts, Downey dished that would-be co-star Winslet made fun of his shaky British accent.
“I was like, ‘I got to have a better British accent than Jude Law at this point,’” Downey said. “And Winslet said, ‘That is the worst British accent I have ever heard.’”
Director Meyers informed Downey that “The Holiday” wasn’t a “fit” for him and Fallon.
“Nancy said to both of us at the same time, ‘This was great. It’s just not a perfect fit. It’s not a perfect fit,’” Downey remembered. “I was like, ‘I’ll check out now, but I’m taking the gummy bears from the minibar.’”
Fallon added during the joint interview, “I was in a hotel room with Robert Downey Jr., Cameron Diaz, and Kate Winslet, and we read this script. I said, ‘If Jack Black says no to this movie, I’m so in. I’ll do it for half his price.’”
Fallon meanwhile praised “Oppenheimer” actor Downey’s acting ability, calling him “the best actor I’ve sat across from and did a scene with in my entire life. It was mind-blowing for me. I quit the business. I never went back.”
Writer-director Meyers shut down rumors of a “Holiday” sequel in December 2022 after The Sun falsely reported from an unnamed source that production would be starting in early 2023 with the original cast.
“So many DM’s about this,” Meyers captioned on Instagram. “Sorry but it’s not true.”
