As explained by People , the 2008 satirical comedy film featured Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus, a White Australian method actor who underwent “pigmentation alteration” surgery to play Staff Sergeant Lincoln Osiris, a Black character, complete in blackface .

The 2008 satirical film starred Robert Downey Jr. as a Method actor who dons blackface to play a Vietnam War soldier.

Downey Jr. received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work on Tropic Thunder but lost to Heath Ledger, who won posthumously for his role as The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.

Ben Stiller is doubtful that his 2008 satirical comedy “Tropic Thunder” could get made today. The film, which centers on a group of egotistical actors making a Vietnam War movie, grossed nearly $200 million worldwide and picked up an Oscar nomination for supporting actor thanks to Robert Downey Jr.

Tropic Thunder star and director Ben Stiller has confirmed what many movie fans have long believed: there's no way that the hit 2008 comedy could have

It was more than dicey, to say the very least. The Reality Bites director seems to be coming to terms with the idea that not even the "right storyline" and "angle" can hold up anything that has much deeper weight to it. The honesty of his statement is nice to hear, and I’m glad he is this open about such a controversial piece of his work.

Over the years, Stiller and Downey Jr. have stood by the controversial film, which also received backlash for its disrespectful treatment of people with mental disabilities around the time of its release. They have frequently stated that Tropic Thunder was satirizing actors who engage in insensitive and offensive stereotypes.