Robert Downey Jr. Surprises Young Fan At Teen Choice Awards

The accolades for Avengers: Endgame are just pouring in, as Marvel Studios’ hit film has already brought home some hardware at the Teen Choice Awards. Robert Downey Jr. won Choice Action Movie Actor at the ceremony and shared an amazing moment with some young fans backstage. The emotions were flowing freely as these kids got a chance to meet one of their favorite stars.

All of them were dressed up like Iron Man as Robert Downey Jr. accepted his award and they looked just as thrilled to be up there. While the fans were still in costumes, the actor went around and introduced himself and took some pictures. A couple of the fans captured the moment on social media and the emotion is palpable.

One young fan couldn’t even get out his name when the actor asked him as he said, “Oh my God, I’m going to cry.” Downey Jr. quickly tried to calm him down a bit and told him “Yeah, pretty much.” That trademark wit and warmth is still there, that kid will probably remember this exchange for a lifetime.

Robert Downey Jr. had Marvel fans all in their feelings by the end of Avengers: Endgame. The actor had to say goodbye to the role that made him a household fixture for so many fans worldwide. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige spoke about the challenge of telling the actor about his eventual fate with Empire Magazine at a Q&A. It was up to the head man to explain their idea to kill off Tony Stark.

“I remember pitching that to Robert Downey Jr. probably in December of 2015, I think,” he told the audience. “I pitched him the idea of the two-part finale for Avengers and Spider-Man: Homecoming, which was a part of that leading into it. It took a little while, but eventually, it came together. I think at first it doesn’t seem real that this journey will come to an end. But as it got closer to filming, it really was emotional for all of us, and particularly for him.”

It couldn’t have been easy to step away even if you know that part of the journey is the end. Fans speculated that one or more of the heroes would have to perish to stop Thanos once and for all. Not many thought that Tony Stark would be the one to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the world. Even though these are summer blockbusters, the ending was deeply affecting and the directors have even called for Downey Jr. to get some award season consideration.

“What’s so incredible about Robert Downey and his performance — and we think this is an awards-caliber performance — is when he looks at Benedict in that moment, what you see happen on his face and the way he just drops his eyes and receives the information, it’s because he knows he’s the solution and the solution involves snapping his fingers — he’s going to die,” Joe Russo told Backstory Magazine. “The thing he wanted to preserve two hours earlier in the movie is his relationship with his daughter, and he will have to sacrifice that in order to save everyone else.”

So, while the actor may have seen his last action as Iron Man, it’s pretty clear that many feel like those young fans he met backstage. The love is very real.