100 Greatest Movie Characters: 101

Because someone wanted to see, here's the one that almost made my list

"To be a moron. To be moronical. An imbecile. Like the dumbest motherfucker that ever lived"

101. Kirk Lazarus
Tropic Thunder

One of the greatest actors of our generation, Australia's Kirk Lazarus is the ultimate method actor. He brings an air of professionalism (and usually an award or five) to any film he works on. His most recent work, "Four Leaf" Tayback's infamously gritty Vietnam memoir "Tropic Thunder," casts him in the role of Sgt. Lincoln Osiris, the tough-talking African-American sergeant of Tayback's troop. Ever the professional, Lazarus undergoes a controversial pigmentation altercation surgery to darken his skin to match the complexion of the character.

In reality, Robert Downey Jr. plays Lazarus/Osiris and is just covered in blackface and speaking in a ridiculous blaxploitation accent. Yet for all the pure stupidity he carries with him, you can still feel he's smarter than just about every other character in it. Let me put it like this. At one point, he gets called the "n-word" by rapper Alpa Chino, the only actual black cast member of the film. Lazarus slaps him across the face and hugs him, telling him "For 400 years, that word has kept us down." Then he proceeds to fucking quote the theme from The Jeffersons.

Yet, it's all weirdly okay, because none of what Lazarus is doing seems wrong to him. From his perspective, he's just deep in character, where he'll remain until the DVD commentary is over (Downey actually does the majority of the film commentary with the character accent, dropping only when Lazarus drops it. He then uses an Australian accent until the credits). Kirk Lazarus is an enigma. An incredibly offensive enigma.

Defining moment: Lazarus has three for me:

3. The invasion of the Flaming Dragon drug ring, where he speaks fluent Mandarin in the stupid Osiris accent. To clarify, Robert Downey Jr. is playing an Australian actor who is playing an African-American soldier who is playing a Chinese farmer. Robert Downey Jr. is an amazing actor.

2. His emotional breakdown near the end. Finally admitting that, for all his professionalism and awards and knowledge of who his character's are, he doesn't even know who he is. Robert Downey Jr. is an amazing actor.

1. Obviously, his speech to fading action star Tugg Speedman who once tried to break into drama with his portrayal of the mentally-challenged character Simple Jack. Lazarus's "never go full retard" speech chews out the Academy on their love of the disabled and might be the most controversial thing about the entire movie as it raised the ire of a number of disability advocacy groups.

Also, I'm pretty sure this monologue was what earned him his Oscar nomination because the Academy didn't want to seem like stuck-up buttholes. Also a reason for getting the nomination? Because Robert Downey Jr. is an amazing actor.