Robert Downey Jr to make Broadway debut this year

Robert Downey Jr is set to make his Broadway debut in a new play from Pulitzer prize winner Ayad Akhtar.

The Oscar-winning actor will play the lead in McNeal, the story of a writer struggling with “an estranged son, a new novel, old axes to grind and an unhealthy fascination with artificial intelligence”. It’s described as “startling and wickedly smart”.

McNeal will play at the Lincoln Center Theater in New York, where Steve Carell is currently leading a production of Uncle Vanya. The play will be directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher, known for staging South Pacific in 2008 and To Kill a Mockingbird in 2018.

A limited engagement will run from September to November.

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Downey Jr is coming off the back of his first Oscar win, picking up the award for best supporting actor for his role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. He’s also currently starring in Park Chan-Wook’s small-screen adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer.

The actor was last on stage in 1983 for off-Broadway production American Passion alongside Jane Krakowski. “It’s been 40 years since I was last on ‘the boards’, but hopefully I’ll knock the dust off quick,” he said in a statement.

Downey Jr, known for playing Tony Stark in the Marvel universe, is also set to play a small role in Jamie Foxx’s comedy All Star Weekend.

Akhtar’s previous stage credits include 2012’s Disgraced, which won him the Pulitzer prize for drama, and 2016’s Junk, which was nominated for the best play Tony. He is also currently working on a Broadway adaptation of Oscar-winning musical La La Land.

The most recent Broadway season saw debuts from other Hollywood actors including Carell as well as Rachel McAdams, who received a Tony nomination for her performance in Mary Jane.