Robert Downey Jr. Says Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man Convinced Him to Play Iron Man

After experiencing Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s really hard to imagine anyone else taking on that role. He was perfect as this character and it’s like he just became Tony Stark.

Jon Favreau knew that Downey Jr. was the actor who needed to step into this role and he fought to make that casting happen. When deciding if he would even want to take this role, Downey Jr. shared that he was actually inspired by Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man to take up the mantle of Iron Man.

While talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Downey Jr. talked about the impact that Maguire’s Spider-Man had on him before he landed the role that changed his life and career.

When referring to the comic book movies of the past, the actor said: “In real-time, I saw how difficult they were. [I saw] how rewarding they could be, and how popular they were becoming.”

Downey Jr. also addressed his journey right before Marvel came along, saying: “I had been clean long enough…hungry even longer and I could feel [the] obsession coming back with manifesting the best version of myself.

“I had strangely been furiously strength training six times a week before I even knew [this role] was coming, and my shrink had told me ‘Just start acting like something great is gonna happen and get ready for it.’”

After sacrificing his life in Avengers: Endgame to save the universe, Downey Jr. is now coming back to the MCU, but this time he will be taking on a very different role, he will be playing the big bad villain Doctor Doom, and it’s going to be interesting to see how exactly they attempt to pull this off.