Spoilers for Episode 3 of The Sympathizer are ahead. If you aren’t caught up, you can stream it with a Max subscription, and make sure to catch new episodes as they air on the 2024 TV schedule every Sunday at 9 p.m.
Robert Downey Jr. playing four characters in one show is a lot to take in, however, Robert Downey Jr. playing said men in the same scene is on another level. Watching the Oscar winner perform as Claude, the professor, the auteur and the congressman within one sequence is incredible from both a technical and story standpoint. So, when I asked his scene partner, Hoa Xuande (who plays The Captain), about how they shot this moment, his co-star, the one and only Sandra Oh, also squeezed in some of her own questions, making for a lively and educational conversation about how they shot this mind-boggling scene in The Sympathizer.
For some context, in the book-to-screen adaptation of The Sympathizer, The Captain goes out to dinner at a steakhouse with the four men of power who make a deep impact on his life. In the show, all of these characters are played by Robert Downey Jr., creating a connection between the four and their similar effect on the leading man’s life.
Technically speaking, this scene was a beast to shoot, and it involved RDJ changing frequently. While speaking during a roundtable about the HBO show, Hoa Xuande broke down the scene that took two to three days to create and how they shot it, saying:
We had body doubles for those moments where Robert was those characters. And then obviously, Robert was in the character that he was for that day. And then I would be in the booth, looking at the body doubles and listening to the first AD deliver those lines, but then listening to Robert doing the character that he was in for that day delivering his lines. Then, you know, he would get out of the chair, do a two-hour dress down and another two-hour dress up for his next character, and sit in his next character’s spot. And then we repeat the process.
Talk about a process! Xuande continued to break down the key scene in the show that marked RDJ’s return to television, saying that it was an intense puzzle to piece together for everyone involved:
And it was just such a mindfuck, you know, so to speak. Because when you have your first AD reading these lines, it’s just these lines, but when you see Robert and the way he comes alive, he’s got his thing.
He most certainly does have that thing, and Downey is remarkable in the sequence. Overall, this beast of a scene is so fascinating, Sandra Oh followed up my question with her own queries for Hoa Xuande, asking:
So when you guys started, did you rehearse all of it? …That’s a good question. Who did you start with?
This led to a back-and-forth between the two actors as Xuande broke down how the coverage of Downey’s four characters worked. Here’s how the conversation went:
Hoa Xuande: I think I started with Claude. Claude is the most prominent of the characters. So I felt most comfortable, and he’s obviously sitting right next to me. So it’s the easiest to shoot.
Sandra Oh: So, when you rehearsed it, Robert didn’t [do all of his characters?] That’s really, really trippy, so you started with Claude?
To break it down, they did start with Claude, with Xuande explaining that that was the character he rehearsed the scene with. Then, on the day, Downey would change over and over and they’d shoot the scene again and again to get all the necessary coverage. The actor told us that while it was a “mindfuck” it was also rewarding:
But it was just really fun to see Robert, probably have an aneurysm going through his different characters in three days. And then just trying to keep up with him with ‘Hang on, who am I talking to this time and where?’
That twisty answer for a twisty and brilliant scene in the A24 series led Oh and me to note just how amazing the sequence is. The Killing Eve alum made this point by saying:
But he’s like, so skilled. And so loose. You know, it’s it’s amazing. It’s really amazing to watch.
This back and forth continued past my question, as Oh asked Xuande talked more about the order they shot Downey’s characters. The Captain actor then answered her great questions, saying that they started with Claude, moved to the congressman, then the professor and finished with the auteur, and throughout that, they were always shooting both RDJ and him.
Overall, the steakhouse scene is a pivotal moment in The Sympathizer and a masterwork in filmmaking. So, I totally understand and love that Sandra Oh took over and asked so many great questions.
To see this scene again, and to witness the rest of this series, you can watch The Sympathizer on Max.
