Robert Downey Jr. Once Expected to Go Through a ‘Crisis’ After He Stopped Playing Iron Man
Marvel superhero Iron Man has played a huge role in revitalizing Robert Downey Jr.’s career. So much so he was prepared to experience a crisis when his reign as Iron Man ended.
Everything changed for Robert Downey Jr. overnight after ‘Iron Man’
Downey’s career reached new heights thanks to director Jon Favreau’s Iron Man film. The actor, who’s led a tumultuous past and career, was already having a comeback prior to his Marvel fame. The 2000s saw him featuring in films like Zodiac and A Scanner Darkly. But Iron Man saw him not only becoming the lead of a popular superhero film, but the lead of an entire franchise.
It was a role he originally pursued after seeing what doing blockbuster films did for some of his contemporaries.
“I originally pursued Iron Man because I had seen Keanu Reeves and Johnny Depp succeed with their own film franchises and I wanted my son to see his dad in that kind of a movie. I’m also proud of the fact that I’m a leading man who can do major blockbusters and be that Harrison Ford kind of guy. It’s not a bad place to be,” Downey once said in an interview with Esquire.
It took some convincing, but eventually Downey snagged the role. The effects Iron Man had on his life started almost immediately after the film’s release.
“Everything changed on the Monday morning after the opening weekend for Iron Man in 2008. My economic and professional status underwent a complete revolution and I’ve tried to understand how that works and make sure I maintain that stature and momentum,” he continued.
Robert Downey Jr. felt he’d go through a bit of a crisis after walking away from ‘Iron Man’
Years before End Game, many were still inquiring how long Downey pictured himself playing the superhero. Downey wasn’t even sure about this answer for a long time. But in a 2013 interview with GQ (via Entertainment Weekly), Downey expected he wouldn’t give up the role lightly.
“Here’s the thing. At whatever point I’m done with this, I’m going to have a bit of a crisis, because I probably haven’t even fully ingested how much I’ve enjoyed it, how much it’s meant. It so came out of kind of relative obscurity as this second-tier character from the Marvel universe, and I feel I was part of making it something more. But it also to me was just good filmmaking,” he said.
In a 2013 interview with Collider, Downey agreed that being so closely related to Iron Man made him want to stick around. At the same time, however, he was aware he didn’t truly own Iron Man.
“The thing about playing this kind of inherent narcissist, whenever you kill one of Tony’s egos, another one just pops up. I’ve had that experience, but I’ve found the whole thing to be a very quieting journey for me. It’s been remarkably humbling,” he said. “You realize you’re just kind of part of this thing. I think the problems begin when any one person involved in anything — particularly anything successful — decides that they have some sense of ownership to it. This is really something that Stan Lee scratched down going on 50 years now.”
Robert Downey Jr. on his life after Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr. has seemingly retired his Iron Man for good. But back when he was still fully immersed as the Marvel superhero, he became too attached to his character.
“Initially, by creating and associating and synergizing with Tony Stark and the Marvel Universe … and being a good company man, but also being a little off-kilter, being creative and getting into all these other partnerships, it was a time when … what do they say? Owners start looking like their pets,” he once said on The Off-Camera Show.
Eventually, the bond between him and Tony Stark grew so close he had to mentally distance himself from the role. If only for the sake of his own identity.
“I am not my work. I am not what I did with that studio. I am not that period of time that I spent playing this character,” he added. “And it sucks, because the kid in all of us wants to be like, ‘No. It’s always going to be summer camp and we’re all holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya.'”
