This is the most dangerous
creature on earth. A White man in a suit and tie. Park Chan-wook had
this terrific idea <i>to cast one actor to play</i> <i> most of the roles
of the White guys.</i> (SPEAKING KOREAN) These characters poke fun, while speaking to many
of the larger truths of the era. The four characters
that Robert plays <i> are projections of
The Captain.</i> There is a reason behind it, that they all share
similar features <i> and therefore,
the similar actor.</i> And it's a great little
surprise by episode seven. Each and every character
was thought through with such precision and detail. <i>Not just in terms of what
Robert brought to it,</i> <i> but also the look of
all of them.</i> Coming up with the looks,
it really felt like diving into a sculptural
exploration <i>was the best way for everybody
to get on the same page.</i> ROBERT DOWNEY JR.:<i>
It's the first time I've ever</i> <i>gone into a SFX makeup house,</i> <i>and I've seen clay molded heads
of the characters.</i> And I would go in there
with Director Park, and he would take a little
piece of clay and move it. Or we would try
different things. My studio then manufactures
the prosthetic elements. <i>The dentures, the facial hair,
the wigs.</i> We'll even do,
underneath wardrobe, <i>body modification pieces,
which are skintight,</i> <i> that are made to fit
his body custom.</i> This was all very nuts
and bolts and felt like the old school
way of creating a character <i> from the outside in.</i> Come on, man.
This is counterintelligence. It gets wet down here. Claude is essentially
a CIA operative and handler of The Captain. If you can have an image
or you've heard the voice of someone or something,
it helps. I kinda thought of him
as a cross between Gene Hackman and James Spader. (CHUCKLES) We wanted to give him
a character that looked like <i>he had really gone through it.</i> <i> He's got a different
complexion,</i> <i> he's much more freckled.</i> <i> We gave him ears that
were cauliflowered.</i> <i> His nose is a bit wider.</i> <i> It looks like it was
reset and healed.</i> These are great little notes
that help tell his story. Claude is a rather
flamboyant character, and he understands that
CIA agents are expected to hide,
so he hides in plain sight. THE CAPTAIN: I didn't know
you had a dog. CLAUDE: Yeah, it's a good prop. Nobody pays much mind
to a homosexual walking his frou-frou dog. You're a homosexual. I'm whoever I need to be.
Just like you. Action! Why don't we give
our Vietnamese characters some lines? You don't understand cinema. It's just wild to explore this
self-important film director. I think I learned a lot. It was a bit of a cautionary
tale to myself. Potentially a very unchecked
creative version of Robert might become that. Don't be intimidated
by my Oscars, as I am. Show 'em what you got. I wanted The Auteur
to be the sexiest. <i>There has to be something
very charismatic and alluring</i> <i>about him to even understand
why anyone</i> goes along with what
he's doing. Cuttage. That's cinema. Please welcome our friend,
Congressman Ned Goodwin! The Congressman was
an absolute joy, in portraying that
Ronald Reagan energy. I had him in white, like he
was almost evangelical <i> in his political view.</i> We gave him contact lenses
to darken his eyes. <i> They almost look black.
Like, this soulless look.</i> Then he's got a great burn
on his hand that becomes this kind of
claw-like feature <i> that Director Park had
mentioned that he wanted.</i> <i> And Robert holds it in
this frozen position,</i> <i> which often happens with
burns like that.</i> <i> Skin tightens up,
tendons retract,</i> and you get this claw, which became a signature
of Congressman. Cheers. PROFESSOR HAMMER:
Oh,<i> konnichiwa.</i> Please do learn a word of
your lovely language for me. Professor Hammer
is an aberration of misunderstandings, <i>running the Oriental Studies
Department.</i> SOFIA MORI:<i> He also compared
himself to an egg.</i> What, white on the outside,
yellow on the inside? Robert embodied this character
in such an amazing way. I think on our very first test, <i> I wasn't really sure
who the Professor was.</i> <i>And then, once Robert started
playing this character,</i> it helped us really kind of
dial everything in. <i> For example,
how he holds his mouth.</i> There was a lot of movement
that felt like it would be appropriate to have something
that almost frowned down. (SPEAKING KOREAN) He took the bold move of
shaving his head <i> so he didn't have to put
a bald cap on every time.</i> DOWNEY JR.:<i>
Our daughter loved it,
and every morning,</i> she would give me a Benny Hill. I would pull off my beanie,
she would go-- That was, like, my being
sent off to work <i> with my lunch pail.</i> It was really fun to watch Robert bring these characters
to life. Cut. How was that line? And to see the final product
of him playing against himself <i> is a bit surreal.</i> But I think it's a ton of fun
for an audience to see. (SPEAKING KOREAN) Being part of<i> The Sympathizer,</i>
to me, has just been an absolute
gift and education.
