Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr. would not have been his legacy as Impossible mission star, Tom Cruise was the MCU’s top choice. Downey Jr. became a successful star, thanks to his portrayal of the selfish but secretly caring tech genius Tony Stark. After 11 years of building the most expansive cinematic world known as the MCU, Downey retired his metal and his costume – hopefully not for good – after his character sacrificed himself for the universe in End Game. However, Impossible mission star had his reasons for not taking on the role.
Tom Cruise praises Robert Downey Jr., calls him the perfect Iron Man
Mission: Impossible star, Tom Cruise later revealed he thought Robert Downey Jr. was the right fit for the famed Avenger. In an exclusive interview, Cruise opened up about when he was almost Iron Man. He abruptly denied that he was almost Iron Man and that this role seems perfect on Robert Downey Jr. He claims that none come to mind because it is unimaginable for someone else to be Iron Man . Here is the video where he shares the point of view:
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Downey Jr. wasn’t even close to getting the role due to the personal issues he was dealing with at the time, but then turned out to be the “ideal match” for Iron Man. With his charismatic, confident, and witty personality as Tony Stark, he was able to change the MCU’s view of him. In addition to the aforementioned attributes, the genius and brilliant abilities to influence the environment around him, it all testified to Cruise’s thoughts on Downey Jr. being the Iron Man book that he is.
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Iron Man Wasn’t Picked Up By Tom Cruise And He Had Reasons For It
Tom Cruise explained why he opted out of the Marvel film during a conversation with IGN in February 2005. He mentioned that he didn’t feel like it would work for him. He added that he was not ruling anything out. He thinks about all the aspects that could be taken into account before going to the cinema. Everything he said was to imply that he didn’t want to commit to MCU because he didn’t see it anywhere.
“They[Marvel Studios] came to me at some point and when I do something I want to do it right. If I commit to something, it has to be done in a way that I know it’s going to be something special. And since it lined up, I just didn’t feel like it was going to work. I need to be able to make decisions and make the movie as good as possible, and it just didn’t go that way.
-Tom Cruise
Also read: ‘The things we do for our children’: Robert Downey Jr shaves his head for his next project ‘The Sympathizer’ to play the role of a 5-year-old child
Cruise wasn’t the only bankable actor considered for the role before Downey Jr. director Jon Favreau approached Sam Rockwell long before the script was created. He wasn’t offered the role of Iron Man, but he was signed before signing Downey Jr. for his epic role. Favreau was offered the role of Justin Hammer, Stark’s business rival, a blockbuster later. Rockwell admitted he agreed to it not only because he was a fan of the first film, but also because of his girlfriend – Leslie Bibb – who played Tony Stark’s journalist and adventurer Christine Everheart.
Source: YouTube
