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
The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous (film) The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous (film) The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous is a British television film of 1997 based on Jilly Cooper's book of the same name in the Rutshire Chronicles series, directed by Robert Knights and produced by Sarah Lawson. The title role of Lysander Hawkley is played by Stephen Billington. With a length of 146 minutes, broadcasters usually divide the production into a serial of three episodes. It is available on DVD. The producer, Sarah Lawson, had previously worked with the director she hired for the film, Robert Knights, on the feature film "The Dawning" (1988).