Robert Downey Jr. on Making TV Return & His Kids Shaving His Head! (Exclusive)

Robert Downey Jr. and wife Susan chatted with “Extra’s” Melvin Robert at the L.A. premiere of their espionage thriller series “The Sympathizer,” which is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

The show takes place as the Vietnam war comes to a close, and follows a spy (Hoa Xuande) who moves to the United States while still reporting back to the Viet Cong. Downey Jr. has his work cut out for him with multiple roles, including a CIA operative, a professor, a congressman, and a filmmaker.

Robert called the show “a real mindbender” and “quintessentially Vietnamese story,” adding, “I feel like people will get a perspective shift on that period in time and the way that we’ve always considered America’s role in these foreign affairs.”

Susan, who is an executive producer on the project, thought Robert’s recent performance in “Oppenheimer” was the perfect segue to “The Sympathizer.”

She said, “It was wonderful to see him be back in a role like that. And I think it also positioned you perfectly to take on this crazy set of roles.”

Robert agreed, “It was a fun back-to-back, going from Lewis Strauss to these knuckleheads, I'll tell you that much.”

The actor had to shave his head for the series, and his kids helped him with the transformation.

RDJ said, “They seemed anxious to shave my dome.” He went on, “There's something really cathartic about shaving your head or shaving someone's head, and then our daughter Avery was a big ‘Stranger Things’ fan and she actually gave herself a buzz cut at one point, too, so I don't know what to say about all this.”

Plus, Robert spoke about this being his first TV series since “Ally McBeal.”

Why now? “Because I loved the story. And also, the boss said that this would be good and I take direction,” he said, referring to Susan.

Melvin wondered what it is like “managing this guy.”

Susan insisted, “Oh, you don't manage him. That's the first lesson. No, no, no. You take all the energy and just sort of corral it.”

And maybe working together is part of the secret to their 18-year marriage!

Susan said, “We actually love working together or we wouldn't be doing it.”

Robert added, “This is what we do. This is our odd life. And we're in the service industry of providing entertainment.

She insisted, “We're grateful for it.”

Robert also reflected on his recent Oscar win for “Oppenheimer.” When Melvin asked where he keeps his Academy Award, RDJ joked, “Oh, my God — you don't have it?”

Has the win sunk in yet? Downey Jr. shared, “Insomuch as that it's nice to have one, it's not what really motivated me. I think it was great. It was really fun for us to have that season and dress up and do all that while we're still relatively young.”