In 2008, Jon Favreau took the gamble of his life by casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in Iron Man. Going against everyone’s decisions, Jon Favreau remained adamant about his choice and finally convinced Kevin Feige to cast Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role. Since then, there has been no looking back for the actor or the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Robert Downey Jr.

Iron Man was responsible for kickstarting the Marvel Cinematic Universe more than a decade ago. The movie’s overall success was mostly possible by the impeccable acting of Robert Downey Jr., who was also praised by Stan ‘The Man’ Lee for his accurate portrayal of Tony Stark. However, before Robert Downey Jr. became a global phenomenon and one of the highest-paid actors of all recent times, he had hit a rough patch.

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In the mid-90s, Robert Downey Jr. took a nosedive into the world of drugs and alcohol. After getting fired from Ally McBeal and serving almost a year at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in the early 2000s, he still struggled with his addiction and went into relapse. However, he managed to make a comeback with help from his close friend Mel Gibson, and the rest has become history.

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man

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Like his on-screen counterpart, Robert Downey Jr. is very much similar to Tony Stark in numerous ways. Both of them have influential parents. Both lived a reckless life in their youth leading to an almost career suicide. And, both of them returned better than ever after hitting the rock bottom.

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After being cast as Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr. ensured that he stayed at his peak performance levels to deliver some of the most iconic cinematic scenes in recent years. Not just limited to Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr. also became famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s movies.

Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes

Recently, RDJ took a step further in his transformation of real-life Tony Stark. At Amazon’s #reMars conference at Las Vegas, RDJ was the keynote speaker who spoke about his enthusiasm regarding science and technology. As an environmentalist, RDJ wishes to use the most advanced technology to fight global warming, the water crisis, and many other existing issues. The veteran actor also announced the launch of Footprint Coalition, an organization founded with the idea to clean the environment with advanced technology. Footprint Coalition aims at using nanotechnology and robotics to serve the environment.

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At the event, RDJ also exhibited his trademark humor and praised the scientists and technocrats in the most Tony Stark way possible.

“Between robotics and nanotechnology, we could clean up the planet significantly, if not totally, in 10 years. God I love experts. They’re like Wikipedia with character defects.”

Though RDJ might have left his Iron Man role behind after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the character has slowly become one with his personality and now, with his lifestyle.

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