Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. is set to play multiple roles, with a distinct look for each of his characters, in HBO Max’s upcoming espionage thriller mini-series The Sympathizer, a teaser for which was dropped on Wednesday by the streaming platform.

HBO Max shared a picture of the 58-year-old in one of his avatars from the series ahead of the teaser launch. The actor is almost unrecognisable as a clean shaven man with a bald pattern in the photo.

The two-minute-26-second-long teaser also gives us glimpses of Downey Jr.’s different characters even though it centres around Hoa Xuande, a spy from North Vietnam. The clip shows communist allegiances of Xuande’s character and glimpses of the brutal Vietnam War.

The teaser ends with glimpses of at least four characters played by Downey Jr., who seems to be portraying the main antagonist in the show.

The official logline describes the show as “an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States”.

Watch the teaser here:

Earlier, Downey Jr. took to Instagram to share a video of his children shaving his head. The clip also shows that the actor went through an extensive prosthetic makeup routine for the characters he plays on the show. “The things we do for our work… and our kids. #Sympathizer set ready,” the actor wrote alongside the video.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name written by Viet Thanh Nguyen, the series is developed by co-showrunners Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar. Chan-wook is also helming all the episodes.

Apart from DowneyJr. and Hoa Xuande, the series features Sandra Oh, Kieu Chinh, Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen and Toan Le in important roles.

Downey Jr. will also serve as an executive producer on the project alongside his wife Susan Downey and co-showrunners Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar.

The Sympathizer will arrive on HBO in 2024.