After five arduous years in theatres, 2023 was Alden Ehrenreich’s year of return. In the popular movie Oppenheimer, he played the Senate Assistant to Lewis Strauss, played by Robert Downey Jr. Ehrenreich has previously dealt with A-list celebrities, but his encounter with the Iron Man actor was very different. The Blue Jasmine star expressed how impressed he was with Downey Jr.’s dedication and his thoughtfulness for aspiring performers. Though it was criticized for being a disaster, Ehrenreich’s portrayal of Han Solo in the 2018 movie Solo: A Star Wars Story did not fully satisfy the actor’s promise. For his part in the Coen brothers’ film Hail, Caesar!, the Supernaturals actor received positive reviews.
Francis Ford Coppola, the renowned director, assisted Ehrenreich with his feature debut. He collaborated with Woody Harrelson on Solo, George Clooney and Josh Brolin on Hail, Caesar!, and Cate Blanchett on Blue Jasmine. Ehrenreich disclosed that his contacts with these prominent individuals remained entirely professional, despite the fact that none of them mistreated him.
The Tetro actor disclosed to Vanity Fair in a Zoom interview that rising stars like him typically don’t have much time for them. After the shoot is over, they disappear into their “universe.” He so expected a similar rapport with Downey Jr. when he was brought in for Oppenheimer. According to Vanity Fair, the actor said, “I’ve had really good experiences working with big names—very few assholes—but the drill typically is a ‘Hi, nice to meet you,’ and you do your work together, and you have some nice chitchat, and then they go into their world with their assistants and they travel into that universe that they live in. So with Robert, I was very much prepared for that to be the case.”
RDJ took him to dinner the first day they met and then later they went on a road trip “We developed as much of a friendship as I’ve really ever developed with any actor I’ve ever worked with”
On their initial date, Ehrenreich was pleasantly delighted, nevertheless, when the Sherlock Holmes star took him out to dinner. Ever since, Ehrenreich found encouragement in Robert Downey Jr. in every way. Downey Jr.’s dedication to knowing the background of his role and providing entertainment for the entire crew impressed him.