Recently, Mark Wahlberg claimed in an interview with YahooMovies! that he would like to take over the role of Iron Man once Robert Downey Jr. stepped down. The response to this can best be described as “strained”. Some people were adamant that Wahlberg couldn’t play Iron Man “just ‘cause”, while others went so far as to say that only Downey Jr. could ever, ever in a million billion years, play the armoured superhero. But what actually happened?
You know, it must be an awful thing being an actor promoting a film. Think about it: you’re sat in a chair for hours on end, studio lights blaring down on you, being asked the same set of questions over and over again by people. It’s what it must be like for George Lucas whenever he’s directing. It seems only natural for an actor to change things up, if only to keep himself entertained. This definitely seems to be what Wahlberg was doing when he was asked if there were any superheroes he could see himself playing. The Internet and other media outlets in general are making out that a tired man’s small attempt at levity was something much, much more. In fact, watching the interview, you begin to feel a little sorry for Mark Wahlberg, as he briefly talks about “not being chosen to play real people”. How sad is that? Sure, he might not be the best fit for Iron Man or other superheroes, but surely there’s something out there?
The extreme reactions that this has elicited are also a little worrying. While Robert Downey Jr. is a very good Iron Man, no person can play the same role forever. If this happens, the actor just ends up looking weird and worn-out (see Tom Baker in the latter years of his Doctor Who tenure). In addition, if we used the same logic of these Downey Jr. fans, not only would no-one but Adam West play Batman but he would still be donning his tights. Admittedly, that would be amazing to see, but realistically it just wouldn’t work. Old actors move on and new ones get the chance to take up those roles just like in Disney’s song Circle of Life.
It seems that the best way to prevent comments in interviews from getting out of hand in the future would be to give actors the benefit of the doubt. It would also be helpful if people who wanted to criticise watched an interview in its entirety so that they could understand the context of a comment. Sometimes it’s just a joke!
In closing, then, I hope people will be careful not to jump to conclusions the next time they hear a rumour. Unless the rumour is that Shia LeBeouf wants to play James Bond – there could never be a context where that was a joke.
Click here for the interview - the Iron Man discussion begins around 1:30.
Featured Image: The Superficial
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