LOS ANGELES – Robert Downey Jr. knows he’s amassed an impressive collection of classic cars – one he self-deprecatingly describes as artifacts of his success.
Despite his expectations of the “endowments” of achieving a certain level of fame and fortune, it turns out that for the actor, trophies aren’t all they have to offer. It’s that dissatisfaction that helped inspire “Downey’s Dream Cars,” his latest project, which debuted Thursday on Max.
“The money and prizes never motivated me. So it shouldn’t surprise me that this is still not the case,” Downey said at the show’s premiere, held last week at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
While Downey’s Dream Cars is primarily a show for the driven, it’s not limited to that audience. Downey experiments with genres in a kind of eco-friendly Pimp My Ride, which is both a memoir and a documentary about the latest advances in clean technology.
“That was certainly the idea of introducing a little innovation to this kind of storytelling,” he said.
In each episode, Downey relinquishes control of his prized possessions and has experts modify his classic cars to be more eco-friendly, making them electric, converting them to run on biodiesel, or even adding mushroom skins. Hoping it will be a glimpse into the future of sustainability, Downey promotes optimism by showing what is achievable now and what technological advances promise.
It is indeed a show about cars and technology, but Downey conveys a surprising amount of tenderness and introspection. It’s a window into how he’s evolved from the very public battles with drug addiction that shaped his image for years before Iron Man and the Marvel Cinematic Universe called.
He shows a self-awareness of the cinematic “macismo” influences and capitalist values that led him to build such a collection. Throughout the show, Downey reflects on his life, family and the changing priorities of the past few years, particularly in relation to the future of the planet.
Susan Downey, a producer who often works with her husband, shares his commitment to environmental activism and served as an executive producer on the show.
Although she said they both feel a personal responsibility in the fight against climate change, she commended her husband for his efforts to hold companies to account.
“It’s not about absolving ordinary people of all responsibility, but about really recognizing that in order to make the meaningful changes, they have to act at a much higher level,” she said.
The actor has made a name for himself in recent years associated with his activismespecially after its inception FootPrint Coalitiona venture capital fund investing in climate technology and artificial intelligence.
On the series, Downey bemoans society’s inefficiency and lack of collective will to make progress on these fronts, a frustration that contributed to his decision to start both the company and the series.
And despite many people’s concerns about the uncharted territory AI has already broken, Downey believes in its ability to fight climate change and suspects fears about its capabilities may be unfounded to some extent.
“Anytime a real new technology emerges that’s likely to be significant, there’s always a source of fear and hope,” he said, arguing that both should be toned down, even if he believes they could be for one can be used for a good cause. “I’m not worried about that, but I think we should have proper guidelines for that.”
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