Robert Downey Jr. 2007, Downey was cast as the title character in the film "Iron Man", with director Jon Favreau explaining the choice by stating: "Downey wasn't the most obvious choice, but he understood what makes the character tick. He found a lot of his own life experience in 'Tony Stark'." Favreau insisted on having Downey as he repeatedly claimed that Downey would be to "Iron Man" what Johnny Depp is to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series: a lead actor who could both elevate the quality of the film and increase the public's interest in it. For the role Downey had to
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