Marvel Studios
Robert Downey Jr scored great success in his career by playing Iron Mane in the MCU, but this could be different, according to the president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige.
On the big screen we do not think of Iron Man without Robert Downey Jr, and the actor’s career would not have gone to the moon’s horns if he had not played the charismatic Tony Stark, something that could have happened, according to Kevin Feige.
Do not miss: “Marvel Studios predicted that Iron Man would be a failure”: Robert Downey Jr.
On September 25, 2006, Robert Downey Jr. was cast by director Jon Favreau as the lead in Iron Man, and despite Downey being Marvel Studios’ first choice, the studio was already preparing a plan B.
At the University of Southern California graduation ceremony, Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, revealed that in 2006 Robert Downey Jr. came close to losing the role of Iron Man to Clive Owen.
“It wasn’t an easy task, but together with my team and our casting directors and our director, Jon Favreau, we made our list, identified the right guy, and made our first choice an offer: an actor who checked all of those boxes and we were sure it would be a great success. And his name, of course, was Clive Owen. Step. he was not interested“.
Owen starred in such blockbusters at the dawn of the 21st century as Sin City and Children Men, among other acclaimed feature films.
The lesson Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios learned
Clive Owen’s rejection of the project led Feige, Jon Favreau and the Marvel team to look for Robert Downey Jr., who after a camera test was cast as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Tony Stark.
“That is the unwritten rule of life. Not getting your first option could be the best thing that can happen to you. Because you know what is better than choosing your first option? Get the correct option. And in our case, of course. , that choice was Robert Downey Jr., and the first movie we made as a studio ended up being one of the best-reviewed, highest-grossing movies of the year.”.
From the trunk of memories: This was the audition of @Robert Downey Jr to become @Hombre de Hierro
📹: @Fandango pic.twitter.com/OwVmplSXu9
—Gabriel Torres (@jgtorresa) May 16, 2023
Robert Downey Jr. acknowledged that his nerves were on edge that day. “I wouldn’t call it an out of body experience, but it was one of those nerves someone would feel if they were about to play in a big arena or something. I was like ‘I’m going to pass out’”.
You can also read: Robert Downey Jr. was close to becoming Doctor Doom in 2005
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