Iron Man's Leslie Bibb Reflects on Marvel Role 15 Years Later

This May marked 15 years since Iron Man first hit theaters, which means many stars from the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been reflecting on their time in the franchise. The first Iron Man film featured characters who would go on to become franchise staples, including some that are still being used today. The movie also featured Leslie Bibb as Christine Everhart, the Vanity Fair journalist who ends up hooking up with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Bibb also reprised the role in Iron Man 2, which also starred her real-life partner, Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer. Bibb was also featured in several Marvel shorts in 2015 and 2016, which saw Everhart reporting on the Avengers as an anchor for WHIH World News. Bibb even voiced her character in two episodes of What If...? in 2021. Recently, Bibb caught up with Collider and reflected on making Iron Man 15 years later...

"I was doing this movie called Midnight Meat Train with Bradley Cooper. My manager sent me this audition, and he said, 'There's this thing, it's a Marvel movie,' and I was like, 'Marvel? What's Marvel?' And they said, 'Go in.' I'd worked like all night, I was really tired, and I was like, 'I can't do this audition,'" Bibb recalled. "It's like he knew, I remember he was like, 'Leslie, put on a skirt and go in. Just do it.' I was like, 'I'm gonna be terrible!' And he's like, 'Just do it!'"

She continued, "So I went, and I think, I don't know ... was [Jon] Favreau in the room? He might have been in the room. I don't know. I just remember I auditioned, and did it, walked out, got it. [I] had to go read the script in somebody's trailer on the set. I remember I was sneaking notes, writing stuff, because I was like, 'I'm never gonna see the script again.' I'm like, 'I need to have an idea of what the heck is happening.' I'd never signed an NDA about reading a script before. I was like, 'That's weird.'"

Bibb also recalled going to a comic book store to find some Iron Man comics, and she couldn't believe how seriously people were taking the recent comic death of Captain America. "I don't think I understood the obsession with comic books. It hadn't occurred to me. It was not in my realm of thinking. And the movie came out, and it was huge and sort of changed everything," she explained.

"I don't really feel like a part of the Marvel world because there's so many superheroes," Bibb added. "I think there are people who are like, 'You're the person who got him to say he was Iron Man!' But, you know, it's not like you're Black Widow, or you're wearing a cape. I'm so grateful to be in that world. I loved it when they asked me to come do the What If...?'s. I just think it's so crazy how big that world is, and how they're constantly... those guys and girls and women who are all at that studio, how they're so smart at branding all of it and creating content that is so digestible for so many fans. That's always fascinating to me how rabid the fans are for that content. I think it's so interesting."

Kevin Feige Reflects on Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man Casting:

Recently, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige spoke about Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man casting. In honor of the 15th anniversary of the movie's release, Feige sat down with Iron Man director Jon Favreau to reflect on the first MCU movie and talk about everything from the effects to the casting of Downey Jr. in the titular role.

"I think that's probably one of the greatest decisions in the history of Hollywood," Feige shared. "I remember on later movies...I would say, Robert, we wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you. Meaning we wouldn't have a studio if it wasn't for you."

"I remember sitting down with [Robert] and I was like, he just got it and he's got that spark in him and his eye and he's ready," Favreau recalled. "Once it was him, that's when my life got a lot easier." He added that Downey Jr. "had a very [high] standard that he wanted to hit with, not wanting this to feel basic. He wanted it to be special."

"It wasn't really until we cast Robert that I fully understood what the take was," Favreau revealed. "Every decision became a lot easier." Feige said of Favreau and Downey Jr., "You and Robert are that movie, it's the balance right between poking fun at it or taking the piss out of a moment, but also, and this is what you both are so good at, taking it seriously."

Iron Man is currently streaming on Disney+.