Fans have recently had a first sneak peak at Robert Downey Jr as Dr Doom in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday movie – but now much do you know about him?
The hype around Avengers: Doomsday was already high, and that was before it was revealed that Robert Downey Jr – who for more than a decade played Iron Man in the MCU – would be taking on the role of Dr Doom in it.
Since then, fans have been awaiting any news – or pictures – to see what he might look like. Their patience was rewarded at CinemaCon last week, when fans got their first look at his character, as well as a taster for the movie, with a short trailer including Thor, giving a dire warning about the threat of Doom.
But how much do you know about Robert Downey Jr, the man behind the mask? Here are some facts you might not know.
Robert’s father introduced him to acting
It was perhaps inevitable that Robert would become an actor, as he was around the business from birth. His father – Robert Downey Sr – was an actor and director, and his mother, Elsie, was also an actress.
Robert’s first taste of acting came at the age of five, when he appeared in his father’s movie, Pound (1970), portraying a sick puppy in the absurdist comedy. He appeared in several other of his father’s films during his childhood.
He once studied classical ballet
Due to his father’s work, the young Robert moved around a lot, and at one point, when he was about 10, he resided in London, England.
While in London, he attended Perry House School in Chelsea, where he studied classical ballet.
He was part of the Saturday Night Live cast – briefly
In its more than 50 years, a host of Hollywood stars have got their break through being part of the cast of iconic comedy show Saturday Night Live.
However, Robert’s experience wasn’t the catapult to fame he had hoped for. He joined the cast in 1985, when the show underwent a regeneration and introduced a new, younger cast. But the new cast didn’t go down well with fans – ratings slumped with the comedic ability of the performers questioned. Robert, along with many others from that season, didn’t make it back when the show returned the next year.
He kept a lot of the period clothing from Chaplin
One of Robert’s early starring roles was in the 1992 film Chaplin, a biopic of Charlie Chaplin, one of the early stars of cinema as it made the transition from silent to talking pictures.
While the movie wasn’t a commercial success, it performed well with critics, with Robert’s role being particularly praised – and it earned him an Oscar nomination.
As with any period piece, the costume department work hard to source authentic period clothing. After the movie was finished, Robert kept a lot of the Chaplin costumes he wore.
He was nearly Dr Doom 20 years ago
There is much fan excitement to see how Robert plays the role of one of Marvel’s most iconic villains. But many don’t realise that he nearly played the character back in the noughties – before he took on the role of Iron Man.
In the 2005 movie Fantastic Four – pre-MCU – the team come up against Dr Doom. At the time, Robert was strongly considered for the role – and even met director John Favreau – but in the end it went to the late Julian McMahon, who the studio preferred.
Robert and John would of course go on to work together in the MCU on many occasions.
Robert is the fourth-highest grossing actor of all time
Thanks to Robert’s involvement in 10 MCU films, as well as others such as Oppenheimer, Sherlock Holmes, Tropic Thunder and others, he is now ranked as the fourth highest grossing actor of all time, with movies starring him taking more than $14 billion at the global box office, according to The Numbers.
