Why No One Else But Robert Downey Jr Could Have Been Iron Man

Why No One Else But Robert Downey Jr. Could Have Been Iron Man

A Tweet claiming “Iron Man could be played by almost anyone” has drawn fire from fans who feel Robert Downey Jr. was born to play Tony Stark.

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Why No One Else But Robert Downey Jr Could Have Been Iron Man

A recent Tweet claiming that Iron Man could have been played by almost anyone has drawn fire. Fans of Robert Downey Jr. were swift in defending the popular actor, saying that only he could have brought as much ethos to the role of the billionaire turned superhero Tony Stark. Many pointed to the actor’s own troubled past and how his experiences made him uniquely qualified to bring the man behind the iron to life.

The controversy came about because of a Tweet on the official account of The Sunday Times, promoting an interview with Stillwater star Matt Damon. Speaking about the changing nature of Hollywood and how he felt that leading men no longer sold movies based on their names, Damon, who will return to the MCU, reminisced on how actors sold movies as they did when he was first starting out in film. The article went on to talk about how the most profitable films of the past decade were all built around brands and franchises, with superhero movies and the Marvel Cinematic Universe being singled out. It was a comment by writer Jonathan Dean, however, which raised eyebrows and ire around the world, as Dean declared that “Robert Downey Jr is a leading man, but his Iron Man could be played by almost anyone with wit; the character is more important to audiences than the actor.”

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Fans across the Internet were quick to correct Dean’s assertion that they didn’t particularly care about what actor played a role so long as they got to see their favorite superhero in live-action and his assessment of what Robert Downey Jr. brought to the role of Tony Stark. While Tony Stark is defined by his intelligence and snarky sense of humor, there is far more to the character than witty quips. The story of Iron Man is one of redemption and one man trying to make amends for his past while fighting his own self-destructive nature. This was something Robert Downey Jr. knew about from personal experience, having fought a long battle with drug addiction that nearly destroyed his career along with his health and having to fight to reach the heights from which he fell.

In many ways, the life of Robert Downey Jr. mirrored that of Tony Stark, as both men followed in the footsteps of their famous fathers yet struggled to free themselves from their shadows. Tony Stark also had his own battles with addiction and alcoholism, with the “Demon In A Bottle” storyline representing one of American comics’ first attempts to tell an anti-drug story using a major superhero rather than a member of their supporting cast. Robert Downey Jr. captured this tortured secret side of Tony Stark as well as perfectly portraying the smart-mouthed genius the world saw him as, and it is unlikely any other actor could have managed that task as well as he did.

Iron Man director Jon Favreau may have put it best in a 2007 USA Today interview, where he explained why he had fought the studio to cast Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark instead of Tom Cruise (who had long been a favorite for the role) or his own first choice, Sam Rockwell. “The best and worst moments of Robert’s life have been in the public eye,” explained Favreau. “He had to find an inner balance to overcome obstacles that went far beyond his career. That’s Tony Stark.”

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Certainly, Tom Cruise could have played Tony Stark’s public persona after a lifetime of playing similarly charming jerks. It’s possible an actor like Johnny Depp or Sam Rockwell could have captured the inner torment that Tony hid from the world. Managing both sides of the character required a special something and it is fair to say over a decade later that Robert Downey Jr. was the right man at the right time. That is why, for an entire generation of movie-goers and superhero fans, he is Iron Man.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/iron-man-actor-robert-downey-jr-best-no-one-else/

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