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LONDON, April 23 (UPI) -- Robert Downey, Jr. walked out of an interview with British journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy after being asked offensive questions about his past. While the first few minutes of the Wednesday interview meant to promote the new Avengers: Age of Ultron film went smoothly, the walkout occurred once Guru-Murthy asked deeper questions about Downey's troubled past.
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Downey became increasingly uncomfortable after Guru-Murthy asked him about a quote he gave to The New York Times years ago that read, "You can't go from a $2,000-a-night suite in La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal."
"Things that you said five or 10 years ago, or things you said in an interview that made sense at the time--I could pick that apart for two hours and be no closer to the truth and I'd be giving you some half-assed answer right now," he responded.
"I couldn't even tell you what a liberal is," he said.
Understanding that the prying question marked a turn in the interview, Downey became clearly uneasy. He asked, "Are we promoting a movie?"
Guru-Murthy also became anxious, against which Downey warned, "You're foot's starting to jump a little bit, you better get to your next question."
The 50-year-old actor stopped the interview after being asked about the "dark periods" of his youth and his relationship with his father.
"What are we doing?" Downy replied mid-question, visibly annoyed yet controlled. He waved his hand to his interviewer and muttered an abrupt "bye" before walking off the set.
The Daily Beast reports that the interviewer is building a reputation for "ruffling the feathers" of celebrities. Director Quentin Tarantino walked out on Guru-Murthy in 2013 and actor Richard Ayoade, although completing a frightfully uncomfortable interview with him, said, "Don't thank me. I've done nothing for you."
