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 Jr. named Downey the worst "SNL" cast member in its entire run, stating that the "Downey Fail sums up everything that makes "SNL" great." That same year, Downey had a dramatic acting breakthrough when he played James Spader's sidekick in "Tuff Turf" and then a bully in John Hughes's "Weird Science". He was considered for the role of Duckie in John Hughes's film "Pretty in Pink" (1986), but his first lead role was with Molly Ringwald in "The Pick-up Artist" (1987). Because of these and other coming-of-age films Downey did during the 1980s, he is sometimes named as a member of