Robert Downey Jr. Transforms into Four Characters in HBO’s ‘The Sympathizer’

Recently collaborating with director Park Chan Wook through HBO’s original series The Sympathizer, actor Robert Downey Jr. praised the filming process as “surreal.”

The Hollywood Reporter shared that Downey was highly satisfied with HBO’s original series.

“We didn’t have much time,” Downey began sharing. The collaborative and production process related to an actor’s special makeup in TV shows and movies usually takes several months. In The Sympathizer, Downey had to play four roles by himself so it was impossible to produce all of the props.

Downey continued, “The fact that we were short on time was something that special makeup designer Vincent Van Dyke and all the key stakeholders knew. One day, he invited us to his studio.” He recalled his first visit to Van Dyke’s studio, where he saw the clay-made characters’ heads, describing it as a “surreal experience.”

Downey mentioned Park, saying, “You’re not just throwing on a costume; you’re stepping into someone else’s skin. Molding and adjusting the clay with Park was something you can’t achieve with CGI. It was like stepping back into an old-school way of creating characters from the outside in.”

Key stakeholders including Park, Downey, Van Dyke, and makeup artist Chris Burgoyne, referenced Downey’s skeletal structure, hair, eye color, etc., to design the different characters and embodied them through changes in hair and makeup.

The HBO original series The Sympathizer can be watched on Coupang Play in Korea.

The show tells the story of a North Vietnamese spy who crossed over to the U.S. after the Vietnam War. Downey perfectly digested all four characters.

Viewers were shocked that Downey earned $2 million for his appearance in each episode.