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 Maillet who was part of the enemy's imperial guard. In November 2008, during a fight scene for the 2009 film "Sherlock Holmes", he accidentally punched Robert Downey Jr. in the face, bloodying Downey and knocking him down. Downey later stated on an episode of the "Late Show with David Letterman" that Maillet was "10 times more upset about it" than he was. Maillet played a Russian professional boxer who took a dive in the 2011 film "The Big Bang". Later that year, he appeared in the film "Monster Brawl" as Frankenstein in a wrestling tournament of eight classic monsters that fight