Ben Stiller doubts his 2008 satirical comedy “Tropic Thunder” could be made today. The film, in which a group of egotistical actors make a film about the Vietnam War, grossed almost $200 million worldwide and was released thanks to Robert Downey Jr. nominated for an Oscar for a supporting role. to take off in 2024 Hollywood.

Downey starred in “Tropic Thunder” as Kirk Lazarus, an Australian stage actor who takes Method acting to an unethical extreme by donning blackface (or undergoing “pigmentation change” surgery, as he puts it) to achieve a to play a black soldier in the Vietnam movie. Stiller decried the insane lengths actors go to to win awards, but it’s too “unpredictable” to do it again.

“Obviously, in this environment, edgier comedy is just harder to make,” Stiller told Collider. “Certainly not on the scale at which we achieved it, also in terms of the economics of the company. I think we were already lucky at the time that it could be made, and I actually credit that to Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks. He read it and said, ‘Okay, let’s make this thing.’ It’s a very inside movie when you think about it.

“The idea of ​​Robert playing that character playing an African-American character, I mean, incredibly risky,” Stiller continued. “It was of course also risky then. The only reason we tried it was because I felt like the joke was very clear in terms of who the joke was about: actors trying to do anything to win awards. But now, in this environment, I don’t even know if I would have dared to do it, to tell you the truth. I am honest.”

Stiller wrote on his Proud of the work everyone has done on it.”

While some have criticized Downey in recent years for donning blackface in the film, the actor himself has never agreed with the response. During an appearance on Rob Lowe’s “Literally!” podcast earlier this year, Downey drew a line between “Tropic Thunder” and Norman Lear’s iconic sitcom “All in the Family.” He said both works shined a light on “figures of speech that are flawed and have been perpetuated for too long” and drew criticism from those who failed to see the bigger picture.

“There used to be an understanding with the public, and I’m not saying the public no longer understands it — I’m saying things have become very clouded,” Downey said. “The ghost that (Ben) Stiller directed and cast and shot in ‘Tropic Thunder’ was essentially a fence against all these tropes that were wrong and (that) had been perpetuated for too long.”

During a 2020 episode of the podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Downey recalled that his mother was “shocked” when she heard about his role in “Tropic Thunder.” Although he was aware of the potential backlash this role could cause, he still thought to himself, “I can’t stand the crazy, self-righteous hypocrisy of artists and what they think they’re allowed to do every now and then. .”

“(Ben Stiller) knew exactly what the vision of this was, he executed it, it was impossible not to make it an offensive nightmare of a movie,” Downey added at the time. “And 90% of my black friends were like, ‘Dude, that was awesome.’ I can’t disagree with (the other 10%), but I know where my heart is. I don’t think it’s ever an excuse to do something out of place and out of time, but for me it put the limit on (the issue). I think having a moral psychology job is one. Sometimes you just have to say, “Yes, I was exhausted.” In my defense, ‘Tropic Thunder’ is about how wrong (Blackface) is, so I object.”

In addition to his Oscar nomination, Downey was up for Best Supporting Actor at the BAFTA Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globes.