Moon Knight may finally be here, but we’re still learning a bit about Oscar Isaac’s entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is technically not the first time that he’s been in a Marvel movie, seeing as he was in both X-Men: Apocalypse and was briefly in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse as Migel O’Hara before making his debut in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part 1. But the MCU is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to joining up as a superhero.
Your life will change, even if you’re already as big of a star as Oscar Isaac is. Because the MCU throws you into a global arena and while Isaac knows what that feels like with things like his role as Poe Dameron in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, it can still be daunting. But it seems like he got some advice about it all from someone who knows best how to navigate these waters.
In an interview with Extra, Isaac was asked if he talked to any of the stars of the Marvel Cinematic Universe before joining. He responded by telling a story about how Robert Downey Jr., who played Tony Stark/Iron Man and kicked the MCU into high gear, gave him advice. “I did talk to Robert Downey Jr. quite a bit,” Isaac said. “I talked to him a lot. I mean, he’s a friend already, and so just talking to him about it and just what his sense of it is and how his process has been and he was such a great great person to talk to, obviously about the whole thing. And also for me, the biggest inspiration, because to this day, still, that first Iron Man movie is just so good.”
Oscar Isaac and franchises
Isaac makes a joke in the interview about tackling all the franchises, but he really has! He’s consistently taken big roles in our major properties while counteracting it with work in things like Scenes From a Marriage or “indie” movies throughout his entire career. Maybe it helped that he started with things like Sucker Punch and Inside Llewyn Davis and went from there to having a glorious beard as the patriarch in Dune, but he’s bounced back and forth.
It’s honestly soothing in a burnout era to know that even a big star like Isaac who has done massive franchises and superhero movies still asks for advice when it comes to accepting roles like this. It helps that Downey also gave him great advice. Because when pressed about what “tip” Downey gave him, Isaac said this: “I think the thing is he really said that Kevin Feige is a genius and he’s a collaborator, and so don’t be afraid to come in and give your ideas and give your thoughts and to be bold with your choices.”
This would seem to be borne out by how much say Isaac went on to have in crafting Steven Grant in Moon Knight, and how much fun he seemed to have on the show, because he clearly took RDJ’s advice to heart.
If Robert Downey Jr. is your go-to guy for guidance about the MCU, you can feel confident that there is no one better to help talk you through it. Who else knows more about navigating the ups and downs of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Hollywood at large?
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
