Robert Downey Jr “Iron Man” Interview For Marvel’s ‘The Avengers’

Marvel Studios presents ‘Marvel’s The Avengers’ – the Superhero team-up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Superheroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When Loki and his army threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins. Directed by Joss Whedon, ‘The Avengers’ (‘Avengers Assemble’ in the UK) stars Chris Evans (Captain America/Steve Rogers), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye/Clint Barton), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk), Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man/Tony Stark), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow), and Tom Hiddleston (Loki). Cobie Smulders, Clark Gregg, and Stellen Skarsgard co-star.  ‘The Avengers’ is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series of the same name. Look out for the film in cinemas April 26th in the UK and May 4th in the US.

What do you think pushes Tony Stark to finally join the Avengers team?

Robert Downey Jr: I think he’s curious. It’s hard for him to ingest what’s going on, so he wants to see it first hand. Although he’s still himself, with the storytelling side of things, he’s searching. In ‘Iron Man 2′,’ with Rhody, he realised he’s not an island, and so there was a partnership, and the same can be said with Pepper. This time it’s very much about that group mind and that “we” is better than “I”. Tony Stark is open to all possibilities and has no problem accepting extraordinary happenings. Joining the Avengers team is an act of curiosity – he really wants to see what’s happening firsthand.

For me, ‘The Avengers’ does a great job in making this huge, ensemble, fantastical story grounded and plausible….

Robert Downey Jr: I think what made the original ‘Iron Man,’ the origin story, work so well was that it was plausible. This time, on ‘The Avengers,’ speaking of alternate realities, there’s a way that Tony can interact with the Avengers. Because he’s already had hints that this Nick Fury guy is clearly stringing him along about becoming part of a larger universe. Tony initially thinks it’s ridiculous, but being Tony Stark, he is more open to the realm of possibilities that exist in the world of ‘The Avengers.’ What everybody captured for their character was the right tone. At a certain point, and without killing it, you tip your hat. And we don’t take it too seriously. This is essentially a comic book movie, but I think you buy into the reality of it. Everyone has their moments, Joss Whedon did a great job of finding everyone’s frequency.

Getting to work with everyone was just so incredibly rewarding. ‘The Avengers’ is a throwback to what people loved in the original ‘Iron Man,’ but with a sci-fi infusion. It is everything that Joss loves about sci-fi, which is being able to escape into this ultimate otherworldly reality, but still be heartfelt and sincere. Sometimes in the moment on this film, the gravity of the situation would hit me and I would catch myself thinking, “What a sweet deal this is.” I think more and more now that I’m 46, I should be in this phase of my development where you appreciate things while they’re happening and this is one of the first times I really had that feeling throughout the production and it just was a lot of fun to work and hang out with everyone.

I really enjoyed the friction between Tony Stark/Iron Man and Steve Rogers/Captain America, they’re polar opposites, yet they’re connected….

Robert Downey Jr: Oh yeah. I’m extremely fond of Chris Evans, and I think he is one of the most underrated actors out there. I watch him and I think to myself, here is a guy who is wearing a stretchy American flag suit and I absolutely believe him (laughs). How is he doing this? The other thing I love about Chris is that he’s kind of this tough guy from Boston, but he also is a sensitive artist who really has an opinion. Our characters are very connected because Steve Rogers was close with Howard Stark and there’s something definitive and tangible about their relationship. If Steve Rogers and Tony Stark’s relationship doesn’t work, then the film doesn’t work.

How was it having Mark Ruffalo join the Marvel universe as Bruce Banner/Hulk?

Robert Downey Jr: I’d always felt that Mark was the guy to play Bruce Banner. I think because there’s something immensely introspective and affable about the guy, that makes that “curse” or that “opportunity” or that “karma” that he has, which is not of his doing, but is his responsibility to manage in some way. He’s just a really funny, quirky guy – but he’s a straight shooter. That’s probably the most important thing , you know? He was great to work with.

Marvel have picked some great directors to helm their movies, and for a lot of people, they’re not always the “obvious” choice?

Robert Downey Jr: Yeah. Joss is a tough guy, and he has generalship – which is what this required, you know? You think of Joe Johnston on ’Captain America: The First Avenger,’ I bet that guy really said, “Look, we’re mashing up genres, and I’m really going to marshal this thing through.” You think about Kenneth Branagh, for ’Thor,’ there’s no better person that Chris Hemsworth could have had with regards to tutelage and interaction. And then for me, Jon was a natural fit. I think, aside from casting, the thing that Marvel does best is they pick the right directors for their projects. It’s always an exciting announcement, but then it also has that extra thing of, “You know what, I wouldn’t have necessarily thought that, but retrospectively it makes perfect sense.”