Robert Downey Jr takes dig at Kieran Culkin before presenting Oscar

Robert Downey Jr. made a snide remark to Kieran Culkin before presenting him with the Oscar for Best supporting Actor for his performance in A Real Pain.

The Home Alone star, who is on a winning spree during this award season after working in Jessie Eisenberg's directed film, took a cheeky jab at Adrien Brody last weekend when he won the SAG Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Onstage at the SAG Awards, Culkin joked about how heavy the award is, quipping, "I don't think there's any way anyone can hold this for 45 seconds - which is the allotted time, Adrien Brody, 45 seconds."

At the Academy awards on Sunday night, the Iron Man actor took the opportunity to return the favour with a playful dig at Culkin.

"I gotta locate the Culk – ah, hey, Kieran," he said. "Hey, man, you nailed it, right? Pretty much modelled the entire breadth and depth of human experience, we felt it. We felt A Real Pain. It was deep and messy. I can relate."

Downey Jr then added, "If you’d simply ceased trying to be as witty as me when on an awards season roll, you’d be perfect. Just food for thought."

The camera panned to the audience, where Culkin was seen smilling before playfully pulling a thoughtful face, as if mentally taking notes on Downey Jr’s remarks.

After being announced as the winner, Culkin shared a warm hug with The Avengers star onstage before beginning the speech praising the actor.

"Mr Downey, sir, thanks for handing this to me - this means a lot coming from you," he said.

During the award season, Culkin adds an Oscar to his list which includes a Golden Globe, SAG, Critics Choice Award and BAFTA.