Right from the start it was a mismatch made in heaven.
Writer, producer and director Todd Phillips loves working with creative comics skilled at improvisation. Though he worked had worked with Due Date star Zach Galifianakis, most notably on the hilarious comedy The Hangover, he’d never had that experience with Robert Downey Jr., who he calls “one of the greatest talents out there.”
He knew Downey was looking to do a comedy and thought the actor would be perfect for the role of a husband trying to get home in time for the birth of his son. “The thing that attracts me to movies in general is who are the guys? Who are the people I get to work with? And what will that chemistry be like?” Phillips says in an interview.
The first meeting between the stars did not go as well as Phillips would have liked – or it worked perfectly, given the storyline. It took place at Downey’s home and Galifianakis was late and sweaty because he ridden his bicycle. “He walks into Robert’s house sweaty and starts making some off-color remark that was a personal affront to Robert. I don’t want to get into what it was, and it just started off on the wrong foot. But that’s what the movie’s about. It’s about this left-footed relationship, so in one way it worked really well,” Phillips says, adding, “Instant non-chemistry!”
In an interview at the premiere of the film, Downey was asked what he thought of his costar. He noted that the dog in the film was supposed to be male, but was played by a female with a male stand in as needed (watch the film and you’ll understand). “That’s what I think of Zach,” Downey jokes. “A hermaphrodite hound.”
“Due Date” is now showing on Video On Demand. Check your cable system for availability.
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© 2011 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
