Robert Downey Jr. reflects on blackface for 'Tropic Thunder': 'I know where my heart was'

Twelve years after his controversial role in Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder," Robert Downey Jr. is still fielding questions about taking on the part.

In the 2008 comedy, Downey plays an Australian actor, Kirk Lazarus, who undergoes cosmetic surgery to darken his skin so he can play a black army sergeant. In the movie within a movie, Lazarus continues to wear blackface outside of filming and gets criticized by a fellow black actor.

During a recent appearance on the "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, the "Dolittle" actor says he initially thought it was a bad idea to take the role after Rogan asked if the actor would have done "Tropic Thunder" today, noting: "I don't think you can do blackface anymore."

"When Ben called and said, ‘Hey I’m doing this thing’ and you know I think Sean Penn had passed on it or something like that, possibly wisely. And I thought, ‘Yeah, I’ll do that and I’ll do that after 'Iron Man' and then I started thinking, ‘This is a terrible idea, wait a minute.’ Then I thought, ‘Well hold on dude, get real here, where is your heart?' " Downey said Wednesday.

The "Avengers" actor explained what other factors went into his decision to take the role.

Downey said he got to "be black for a summer, in my mind, so there’s something in it for me."

He continued: "The other thing is I get to hold up to nature the insane self-involved hypocrisy of artists and what they think they’re allowed to do on occasion, just my opinion."

Downey added that another reason he took on the part was because he trusted Stiller.

"Ben, who is a masterful artist and director ... knew exactly what the vision for this was, he executed it, it was impossible to not have it be an offensive nightmare of a movie. And 90% of my black friends were like, ‘Dude, that was great,' " Downey said.

While the other 10% of his black friends weren't as thrilled, Downey said he can't disagree with them.

"I know where my heart was and I think that it’s never an excuse to do something that’s out of place and not of its time," Downey said.

Downey also reflected on how his mother "was horrified" at the prospect of him playing a character in blackface telling him: "Bobby, I’m telling you, I have a bad feeling about this.'"

"I was like, ‘Yeah me too, mom,' " he said.

Downey noted he believes the movie "put the blasting cap" on similar portrayals in films.

"I think having a moral psychology is job one. So sometimes, you just got to go, ‘Yeah I effed up.’ Again, not in my defense but ‘Tropic Thunder’ is about how wrong that is, so I take exception."

USA TODAY has reached out to Downey's reps for further comment.

More: 'Dolittle': Critics call film 'cursed,' skewer Robert Downey Jr.'s attempt at Welsh accent

More: Review: New 'Dolittle' does little with Robert Downey Jr.'s animal magnetism

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Robert Downey Jr. reflects on 'Tropic Thunder' blackface in 2008 comedy