Robert Downey Jr. Is ‘Devastated’ After Poor Reviews For His Broadway Debut In ‘McNeal’

After poor reviews for Robert Downey Jr.’s highly anticipated Broadway debut came out, the actor has reportedly been struggling to cope. 

The actor took on the title role in McNeal, which is currently playing at the Lincoln Center Theater in New York City in which he plays an acclaimed novelist whose alcoholism and mental illness have led to a breaking point in his career.

The play, written by Ayad Akhtar, has had poor reviews. Sources close to the actor have reportedly said that the actor is devastated by bad reviews of the production and is unlikely to return to Broadway anytime soon.

When announcing his role, Downey expressed great excitement. 

In a social media post, the actor said, “I knew I wanted to do Ayad’s new play before I was done reading it.”

While Downey may be taking the criticism of the show to heart, the vast majority of poor reviews has been focused on the pace of the work – not the actor’s performance. 

Critic Aramide Tinbu wrote the production is “a dull and garbled play that says very little about ethics and artificial intelligence and instead hoists up a pompous and exhausting man who has only ever cared about himself and his legacy.”

Some may not think highly of the play, but many of Downey’s fans have reacted in a more positive fashion. 

“I saw it on Friday night and you were phenomenal,” wrote one fan. “Definitely more than a few scenes I can’t stop thinking about. The whole cast was great.”