Robert Downey Jr. gain more than 20 pounds of muscle in five months to look like he "had the power to forge iron". "Iron Man" was globally released between April 30 and May 3, 2008, grossing over $585 million worldwide and receiving rave reviews which cited Downey's performance as a highlight of the film. By October 2008, Downey had agreed to appear as Iron Man in two "Iron Man" sequels, as part of the Iron Man franchise, as well as "The Avengers", featuring the superhero team that Stark joins, based on Marvel's comic book series "The Avengers". He first reprised the role in
Robert Downey Sr. Robert Downey Sr. Robert John Downey Sr. (born Robert Elias Jr.; June 24, 1935) is a retired American actor, director, producer, writer and cinematographer, and the father of actor Robert Downey Jr. He is best known for writing and directing the underground film "Putney Swope", a satire on the New York Madison Avenue advertising world. According to film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon, the elder Downey's films during the 1960s were "strictly take-no-prisoners affairs, with minimal budgets and outrageous satire, effectively pushing forward the countercultural agenda of the day". Robert John Downey Sr. was born on June 24, 1935 in New