Robert Downey Jr. was rejected by Marvel for 'Iron Man' role?

Actor Robert Downey Jr. is known for playing the role of Tony Stark /Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). He portrayed the character on-screen for around 12 years. He bid farewell to his role in the year 2019 with Avengers: Endgame. However, not many fans are aware of the fact that things were so bad at the time that Marvel refused to cast him point-blank.

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Iron Man Trivia - When Marvel rejected RDJ for Iron Man

According to Hindustan Times, director Jon Favreau recalled in an interview with Rolling Stone in the year 2008 what Marvel told him. He said that under any circumstances they are not prepared to hire him for any price. A dejected Favreau then called up the actor and gave him the bad news. He said, he fought, tried, and did what he could, but unfortunately it’s going to stop here. To this, Downey replied saying he is going to hold out hope. However, this spirit of the actor inspired Favreau to intensify his efforts, and the rest is all we know.

Besides this, in a 2014 radio interview, the director once said that it was his job as a director to show that Robert was the best choice creatively. And now, eventually, the Marvel Universe is the biggest franchise in the film industry. The filmmaker further continued by saying everybody knew he was talented. Certainly, by studying the Iron Man role and developing that script he realised that the character seemed to line-up with Robert in all the good and bad ways. Besides this, the story of Iron Man was really the story of Robert’s career.

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All about Marvel's Iron man - Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark /Iron Man is considered as the pioneer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His first outing as the character in Iron Man was in the year 2008 and was also the first film in the MCU. The actor later reprised the role briefly in Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Besides this, he was also seen in a special appearance in a few other Marvel films as well.

Iron Man Cast

• Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
• Terrence Howard as James "Rhodey" Rhodes
• Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane / Iron Monger
• Shaun Toub as Ho Yinsen
• Gwyneth Paltrow as Virginia "Pepper" Potts

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