Robert Downey Jr. a small appearance as Iron Man's alter ego Tony Stark in the 2008 film "The Incredible Hulk", as a part of Marvel Studios' depicting the same Marvel Universe on film by providing continuity among the movies. After "Iron Man", Downey appeared alongside Ben Stiller and Jack Black in the Stiller-directed "Tropic Thunder". The three actors play a Hollywood archetype—with Downey playing self-absorbed multi-Oscar-winning Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus—as they star in an extremely expensive Vietnam-era film called "Tropic Thunder". Lazarus undergoes a "controversial skin pigmentation procedure" in order to take on the role of African-American platoon sergeant Lincoln Osiris, which
Robert Downey Jr. over US $4.9 billion, with worldwide grosses surpassing $11.6 billion, making Downey the third highest-grossing U.S. domestic box-office star of all time. Downey was born in Manhattan, New York on April 4, 1965, the younger of two children. His father, Robert Downey Sr., is an actor and filmmaker, while his mother, Elsie Ann (née Ford), was an actress who appeared in Downey Sr.'s films. Downey's father is of half Lithuanian Jewish, one-quarter Hungarian Jewish, and one-quarter Irish descent, while Downey's mother had Scottish, German, and Swiss ancestry. Downey and his older sister Allyson grew up in Greenwich Village. As a