5 months ago 03rd May 08:15
When you think of the stereotypical all-American superhero, Robert Downey Jr. doesn?t immediately spring to mind. Hollywood bosses often go for young, handsome unknowns to play their fearless champions, take for example Brandon Routh as Superman. Or, they opt for smouldering hunks like George Clooney and Eric Bana who played Batman and the Hulk respectively.
However, Marvel Studios defied expectation by choosing Downey Jr. - a middle-aged Oscar-nominated actor more famous for his roles in serious dramas such as ?Kiss Kiss Bang Bang? and ?The Wonder Boys? than mainstream box office successes. Even he was shocked to win the part, saying: ?I wasn?t top of anyone?s list to play Iron Man. It was the chance of a lifetime and it has been a journey for me.? But despite his initial reservations, Downey Jr. manages to inhabit the character, bringing humour and intelligence to the role.
In ?Iron Man?, Downey Jr. plays genius billionaire weapons contractor Tony Stark, a character partly modelled on aviator and filmmaker playboy Howard Hughes. Stark?s carefree life changes forever when his convoy is attacked during a weapons test and shrapnel becomes perilously embedded near his heart. He is taken captive by an Afghan warlord and ordered to build a devastating weapon for his enemies, but defies the threats on his life to create an indestructible suit of armour to keep him alive while he escapes.
After returning to America, Stark has a change of heart and vows to take his company Stark Industries, the US government?s top weapons supplier, in a radically new direction ? to save the world rather than destroy it.
As his nemesis Obadiah Stane - played by an unrecognisably bald and chillingly malevolent Jeff Bridges - takes control of his business, Stark holes himself up in his high-tech workshop developing a gold and red titanium suit to give his alter-ego Iron Man superhuman strength and protection.
Stark?s vulnerability is visually emphasised by the glowing mini nuclear reactor he wears on his chest to keep the deadly shrapnel away from his heart. This also becomes the secret to his strength, as it helps to power his Iron Man suit. ?It was like wearing the coolest Halloween suit ever?, reveals Downey Jr..
Director Jon Favreau, whose previous credits include ?Elf? and ?Zathura: A Space Adventure?, believed the former Hollywood hellraiser was the perfect actor to portray the witty, womanising but ultimately flawed character. ?Downey Jr. wasn?t the most obvious choice but he understood what makes the character tick. He found a lot of his own life experience in Tony Stark,? he explained.
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