# Robert Downey Jr is Iron Man **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-downey-jr-is-iron-man/374604 "2006-09-29T14:13:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-downey-jr-is-iron-man/374604/1 "2006-09-29T14:13:52Z")
AICN is reporting (and it has been confirmed) that Robert Downey Jr is going to be Tony Stark in Jon Favreau’s Iron Man movie. I have to say I’m not sure about this, while I’m not a big Iron Man fan I always thought Tony Stark was a black guy. Am I confused? What do you guys think? – IG ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-downey-jr-is-iron-man/374604/2 "2006-09-29T14:19:46Z")
You are semi-confused. Tony’s friend Jim Rhodes, aka Rhody, took over the duties of Iron Man for a time, when Tony’s alcohol problem turned his life upside-down. And Rhody is black. ---
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-downey-jr-is-iron-man/374604/3 "2006-09-29T14:42:32Z")
Oh! And he became War Machine. That’s right, now I remember. Thanks Bosda. – IG ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-downey-jr-is-iron-man/374604/4 "2006-09-29T14:45:16Z")
I’d rather see Tom Selleck in the part, but he’s getting a bit old for it. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-downey-jr-is-iron-man/374604/5 "2006-09-29T14:55:36Z")
I always thought Cary Elwes or a younger Timothy Dalton would be great, but I think Downey is a fantastically talented actor (up there with Depp and Norton as the best out there), and he seems like a natural fit due to his and the character’s shared history of substance abuse. Plus, Downey is a comic book fanboy already, or have we forgotten one of his arrests with a call girl revealed Batman and Wonder Woman costumes in his possession? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-downey-jr-is-iron-man/374604/6 "2006-09-29T16:43:33Z")
[QUOTE=Ethilrist] I’d rather see Tom Selleck in the part, but he’s getting a bit old for it. [/QUOTE] Yeah, back in the day he would’ve been perfect for that role. Think RD Jr. will grow a mustache for the part? ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-downey-jr-is-iron-man/374604/7 "2006-09-29T17:23:44Z")
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar] Think RD Jr. will grow a mustache for the part? [/QUOTE] He’s always struck me as an extremely committed and passionate actor. I can’t help but think Robert Downey Jr. would get his entire body bikini-waxed and roll around in Icy-Hot as character prep for a Mentos ad. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-downey-jr-is-iron-man/374604/8 "2006-09-29T21:01:53Z")
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar] Think RD Jr. will grow a mustache for the part? [/QUOTE] According to the story I read at [cnn.com](http://cnn.com), he grew not just a moustache but a full goatee for the audition. With Jon Favreau directing, I think this will come out very watchable. Let’s just pray it’s not the disaster the last [superhero movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287978/) he was involved with turned into. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-downey-jr-is-iron-man/374604/9 "2006-09-29T21:54:58Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] With Jon Favreau directing, I think this will come out very watchable. Let’s just pray it’s not the disaster the last [superhero movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287978/) he was involved with turned into. [/QUOTE] To be fair, Favreau only played a small supporting role in Daredevil, but had nothing to do with the making of that movie. And he was actually one of the better-cast actors in the movie – a perfect fit for “Foggy” Nelson. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-downey-jr-is-iron-man/374604/10 "2006-09-30T12:09:09Z")
Downey: “I. Am. _ **IRON MAN** _.” Chapelle: “I’m Iron Man, bitch!”