Robert Downey Jr. had to change up his look for the filming of his latest HBO series, The Sympathizer, and fans can barely recognize him. According to New York Post, photos of the iconic actor were taken on set of the series in which he is spotted wearing a "balding redhead" wig. Fans continue to take photos of Robert as the unrecognizable character and post them to social media in awe of the transformation. In one group of photos, Robert can be seen wearing a pink shirt, maroon jacket, and navy pants in addition to the wig while walking on set.
The Sympathizer was announced as an upcoming series in the Summer of 2021, and is based on the "2015 Pulitzer Prize winning novel" by Viet Thanh Nguyen. In preparation for his role as a character in the series, Robert was told that he would have to wear a bald cap. With no interest in this notion, he decided to let his children cut his hair in October, and posted the video to Instagram.
"The things we do for our work...and our kids. #Sympathizer set ready," the post read. in the video, Robert explained to his children that he needed his head shaved for the series. His children proceed to shave his head until he was entirely bald and ready to tackle The Sympathizer.