Ben Stiller doubts his 2008 satirical comedy Tropic Thunder could be made today. The film, about a group of egotistical actors making a Vietnam War film, grossed nearly $200 million worldwide and received an Oscar nomination for supporting actor thanks to Robert Downey Jr. But it’s Downey’s character that would likely prevent “Tropic Thunder” from opening in Hollywood in 2024.

Downey starred in “Tropic Thunder” as Kirk Lazarus, an Australian actor who takes method acting to an unethical extreme by donning blackface (or undergoing “pigmentation-altering surgery,” as he puts it) to portray a black man in the Vietnam film to play soldiers. Stiller mocked the insane lengths actors go to to win awards, but it’s too “sensitive” to do it again.

“Obviously it’s harder to do an edgier comedy in this environment,” Stiller told Collider. “Definitely not on the scale that we have achieved, also in terms of the company’s profitability. I think we were lucky enough to be able to do it back then, and I actually have Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks to thank for that. He read it and said, ‘Okay, let’s do this.’ It’s a very insider movie when you think about it.”

“The idea of ​​Robert playing this character, playing an African American, I think is incredibly sensitive,” Stiller continued. “Of course it was tricky back then too. The only reason we tried it was because I felt like the joke was very clear in terms of who it was about – actors who will do anything to win awards. But now, in this environment, I honestly don’t even know if I would have dared to do it. I’m honest.”

I’m proud of it and the work everyone did on it.”

While some have criticized Downey in recent years for wearing blackface in the film, the actor himself has never acknowledged the backlash. During an appearance on Rob Lowe’s “Literally!” podcast earlier this year, Downey drew a line between “Tropic Thunder” and Norman Lear’s iconic sitcom “All in the Family.” He said both works shed light on “tropes that are not right and have been perpetuated for too long” and were criticized by those who did not see the bigger picture.

“There used to be an understanding with the audience, and I’m not saying the audience doesn’t understand anymore – I’m saying things have become very unclear,” Downey said. “The spirit in which (Ben) Stiller directed, directed and shot ‘Tropic Thunder’ was essentially a diatribe against all these tropes that are not right and (that) have been perpetuated for too long.”

During a 2020 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Downey recalled that his mother was “horrified” when she found out about his role in Tropic Thunder. Even though he was aware of the potential backlash the role could provoke, he still thought to himself, “I can remind nature of the insane, self-serving hypocrisy of artists and what they think they’re allowed to do on occasion.”

“(Ben Stiller) knew exactly what the vision was for it, he executed it, there was no way it wouldn’t be an insulting nightmare of a movie,” Downey added at the time. “And 90% of my black friends were like, ‘Dude, that was great.’ I can’t disagree (with the other 10%), but I know where my heart lies. I think it’s never an excuse to do something that’s out of place and out of time, but for me it (the problem) went beyond the scope. I think having a moral psychology is the first task. Sometimes you just have to say, ‘Yeah, I did it.’ In my defense, ‘Tropic Thunder’ is about how wrong (blackface) is, so I’ll make an exception.”

In addition to his Oscar nomination, Downey was up for Best Supporting Actor at the BAFTA Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globes.