The Movie That Almost Beheaded Robert Downey Jr.

When Interview magazine asked Downey if he enjoyed working with Scott, relishing the opportunity to once again immerse himself in a production that many of his fans would never have heard of. It’s funny that his first memory of the notoriously edgy star was, “I’m not saying he really liked me, but he didn’t like me, so he might as well have had any interest in me at all.”

According to Downey, filming was a completely unpleasant experience for everyone involved. He said: “We were all in Yugoslavia. It was terrible… we were all unhappy there.”

Naturally, putting someone as hot-tempered as Scott in such a situation, it was potentially a recipe for disaster, and Downey Jr. confirmed that he was not exactly a happy camper. However, his most spectacular breakdown was not when things went wrong, but when Downey nearly lost his head in a moment of blind stupidity.

As the crew prepared to film the important scene, Downey joked that director William A. Graham seemed more interested in his fishing magazine than in anything going on in front of his camera. He joked: “Nice guy, but he prefers fishing.” Perhaps it was this inattention that led to the extremely close rapprochement, but this, according to Downey, was entirely his fault.

“We shot George in close-up,” Downey explained. “And I ran to these planes. Some people are mesmerized by rotating the blades. I almost ran right into that damn propeller. As the hypnotized Downey ran headlong towards his doom, one of his colleagues noticed what was happening. Downey admitted: “I always send Gabriel Byrne a Christmas card because he saved my life. He pushed me away from that thing.”

The next thing he saw was Downey and Byrne lying in a heap on the ground, with Downey struggling to explain why he had apparently just tried to cut his head off. He exclaimed, “Jesus Christ, it made sense for me to go through this. It seemed that my goal was on the other side.

It was at this point that Scott made his presence felt. Stunned and in disbelief at what Downey had done, the man’s panic and anxiety manifested itself into violent anger. Downey said the star screamed: “Stop! You stupid idiot! Always watch where you are going! What the hell are you doing? Damn it!

Downey chuckled: “He was pissed that I almost made him watch me die in his close-up.” However, he added that Scott was genuinely concerned about his well-being, as the two developed a connection – or at least as close to a connection as Scott can get – during the filming of the film. With a devilish sparkle in his eyes, incorrigible Downey concluded“It was cool. I did it again to get attention.”

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