That Bromance between Robert Downey Junior and Benedict Cumberbatch

Fans of Marvel’s Avengers would have caught the mother of all superhero movies – Avengers: Infinity War by now. Lots of Marvel characters enjoy screen time in this movie, but among them all, Iron-Man (played by Robert Downey Junior(RDJ)) and Dr. Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) were two characters who probably had the most lines and screen time.

Both actors are big names in Hollywood and were both in Singapore earlier in April for a press conference as well as meet-and-greet with fans. We attended the press conference held at Marina Bay Sands and you can watch it in full below:

Aside from a ditzy Singapore deejay who asked silly spoiler questions and an emcee who kept picking his own friends for the Q&A segment, there wasn’t much drama at the press conference. The cast and crew largely stuck to the script and gave politically correct answers.

In my view, the best question posed to the group was from an Indonesian YouTuber who asked which scene each of the them would choose to cut out if they were hypothetically required to chop off part of the movie in order to screen it in Indonesia. We could see the group was caught by surprise with the question and perked up a little. This was quite different from the other run-of-the-mill questions and answers which they were well prepared for.

Then, there’s that awkward bromance between Robert Downey Junior and Benedict Cumberbatch.

The Marvel Connection

RDJ starred in his first Marvel movie ten years ago with the first Iron Man (2008) movie. Back then, the Marvel movie universe was just in it’s infancy stage, unlike the well-oiled cash machine that it is now, backed by Disney. He went on to make millions riding on the success of the Iron Man movie franchise. Together with Marvel, RDJ staged a spectacular career comeback after falling into a trench from his substance abuse issues, including multiple arrests for drug offences, circling in and out of jail.

Cumberbatch starred in his first Marvel movie just two years ago with Dr. Strange (2016), entering into a very successful superhero movie franchise, moving from more indie and serious roles into a mainstream, commercial role. He is best-known for his role in the hit BBC television series, Sherlock, and is well regarded for his acting skills, having received numerous awards and nominations for acting including three Laurence Olivier Award nominations, winning Best Actor in a Play for Frankenstein. He has also received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Sherlock. His portrayal of Alan Turing in The Imitation Game earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In addition, he has received six British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominations, five Screen Actors Guild Award nominations and two Golden Globe Award nominations among others.

In other words, RDJ went into a Marvel franchise because he needs to rebuild his career while Cumberbatch got into the Marvel franchise because he had a credible career. Quite the polar opposite.

The Sherlock Connection

Both RDJ and Cumberbatch have played the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes in different adaptations. RDJ starred in a 2009 movie, Sherlock Holmes, while Cumberbatch played Sherlock in the hit BBC television series, Sherlock, which was released in 2010 and still reprise the role to present.

So who is the better Sherlock? A reporter asked this question during the press conference and the two exchanged awkward glares at each other before giving the politically correct answer that the roles are different.

Science vs Occult

If you have seen the Infinity War movie, there are lots of snarky banters between Iron Man and Dr. Strange, riding on the ironic combination of having a science-based superhero having to team up with another hero who is versed with the occult, the polar opposite of two fields of studies.

The snarky banters played out during the press conference too, with mostly RDJ making bromance type jokes about Cumberbatch who will respond with similar light-hearted jibes. The two of them clearly share some interesting chemistry, both onscreen and off screen that is great for the audience.

Avengers: Infinity War is now showing in Singapore cinemas and is set to break all sorts of box-office records globally for superheroes movies or in fact, ANY movies. Go catch it if you would like to see more of the bromance between RDJ and Cumberbatch or Iron Man and Dr. Strange!