Robert Downey Jr. Says He Would Pretend To Be Iron Man Before Getting Part

Robert Downey Jr. might not be Iron Man anymore, but that isn't stopping people from asking questions about his time in the suit. BBC Radio 1 got some very adorable little kids to ask the Marvel star some questions and one inquisitive correspondent wanted to know if Downey ever just walked around his home pretending to be Iron Man. Now, the idea of the seasoned actor just rolling around his house, talking to his A.I. assistant and inventing things is something that sounds a bit silly. But, to the audience's surprise, it seems as though there might be a little more truth to that notion than you might think. In fact, the Marvel legend said that his earliest days around the studio and trying to embody the character provided the best example.

"Back in the day, when I was leading up to screen testing for the part, there were these three scenes from the screen test, two of which were in the movie," Downey began. "And I would run them, and run them, and run them. I would just stand in front of the mirror and I would think about like, what if I really was as confident as this guy. So, I was pretending that I was going to get the part."

When the interviewer asks the star if he took the method approach with the character, the Iron Man actor replied, "I method-ed Tony Stark. I did." There was some smiling between the two of them when they reflected on how Downey sort of manifested the part. And then he offered some sage words about how people approach challenges every day. "Don't we all though? We're all creating our own reality," he concluded.

Later in the interview, another young fan asks him which superhero he would want to be if he hadn't been Iron Man. That question is a bit more complicated as two of his Avengers teammates get the nod. Yup, Tom Holland, the Tony Stark protege himself is one choice while Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye is another good selection.

"I can't think of any red-blooded American boy that didn't imagine themselves as Spider-Man growing up," Downey explained. "However, looking back on it now — also because I'm just such a Jeremy Renner fan, and he made it so cool, particularly when he turns into Ronin [in Endgame] — I would say Hawkeye would be my go-to."

Dolittle is in theaters right now.