Robert Downey Jr. jokes that Oppenheimer success has been 'a terrible tragedy' for introvert Christopher Nolan

Oppenheimer may be a smash success for Christopher Nolan — but it's also putting a dent in his social calendar.

Robert Downey Jr. traveled to Park City, Utah, on Thursday to present his director with the inaugural Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award, honoring Nolan for his commitment to independent film. Downey and other stars descended on the former mining town to kick off the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and at the fest's glitzy opening night gala, Downey told the crowd that Nolan's continued awards success has been a double-edged sword, especially for a filmmaker as introverted as Nolan.

"Confidentially, he needs his spirits lifted," Downey explained. "He's a bit blue because a terrible tragedy has befallen him. I don't mean to bring this up, and I know it's very personal: He has become recognizable on the street. He recoils as though from a hot flame from this new and most unwelcome reality."

Downey also joked that as a "multihyphenate" himself, he was the perfect person to fete his director. "We have become extremely close — as in we had dinner on location once," Downey deadpanned, adding that as the two have slogged along on the awards campaign trail, Nolan recently asked him if "death by schmoozing" was possible.

Nolan later took the stage to accept the award, thanking the festival for helping to launch his career with 2000's Memento. He recounted how "all of the independent distributors" initially passed on acquiring the film, until it started gaining buzz at the Sundance.

"It's two weeks or so in which independent filmmaking doesn't just mean a business model," Nolan said of the festival. "It means an aspiration for filmmakers. It means that as directors and writers and actors, you're treated as artists. You are given pride of authorship in what you've done."

In addition to recognizing Nolan, the festival presented Kristen Stewart with the Visionary Award. (The actress has two films at the fest this year, Love Me and Love Lies Bleeding.) Her Adventureland costar Jesse Eisenberg took the stage to pay tribute to Stewart, reminiscing about their early career together and calling the actress "one of these rare performers that is so committed, so authentic, so feeling, that you want to make sure she's okay at the end of the day."

Other honorees included Past Lives writer-director Celine Song, who received the Vanguard Award for Fiction; Eternal Memory director Maite Alberdi, who received the Vanguard Award for Nonfiction; and former Sundance Institute board chair Pat Mitchell, who received the Vanguard Award for Philanthropy.

The 2024 Sundance Film Festival runs Jan. 25-28. For more, check out EW's list of the 10 most anticipated films at the festival.

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