Whatever Happened To Harley's Actor From Iron Man 3?
"Iron Man 3" came out in 2013 and ended its theatrical run as the fifth-highest-grossing film in cinematic history up to that point, with a total intake of $1.25 billion. It's still the eighth-highest-grossing summer release ever. The film's main attraction was, of course, the incomparable Robert Downey Jr., who shines particularly in Tony Stark's relationship with a young kid named Harley. Harley was played by a young actor named Ty Simpkins, who'd previously co-starred in "Insidious" (2011) and "Insidious: Chapter 2" (2013).
Harley finds Tony breaking into his garage after he crash-lands in rural Tennessee following the destruction of his home by the Mandarin. Tony's armor is nearly destroyed in his escape from the danger in Malibu, and he needs help to find Pepper and take down the Mandarin. Harley serves as an assistant and accomplice to Tony, who recovers and discovers that the suit brought him to Tennessee to investigate a bombing that fits the Mandarin's profile. Eventually, Tony moves on, but not before learning that Harley's father abandoned him six years prior. At the end of the film, viewers see Harley entering his garage, only to find that it's been outfitted with expensive tech and toys for him to explore.
Since "Iron Man 3," many Marvel Cinematic Universe fans may have wondered what Ty Simpkins has been up to since. Luckily, we've got answers.
Ty Simpkins co-starred in Jurassic World
Just two years after the release of "Iron Man 3," Ty Simpkins found himself co-starring in another huge Hollywood blockbuster — "Jurassic World." A 2015 revival of the film series that began in 1993 with "Jurassic Park," "Jurassic World" follows the employees of an enormous, dinosaur-themed amusement park that fills an entire island. The park is packed to the brim with cloned dinosaurs and excited tourists, and everything is overseen by a no-nonsense type named Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard).
Simpkins and Nick Robinson play brothers Gray and Zach Mitchell, Claire's visiting nephews. The audience gets to experience the park through their eyes most of all, and when everything starts falling apart thanks to the chaos incited by the escape of the park's newest attraction, it's their fear with which the audience most identifies. Gray and Zach spend most of the movie terrified and attempting to reach safety, and Simpkins even told Collider that they had him scream as a part of his audition.
While promoting "The Whale" later on in 2022, Simpkins admitted to The Face that he actually lied during his audition process for "Jurassic World." He told them he wasn't afraid of heights, despite the fact that the movie called for his character to act in a scene at the top of a large waterfall.
Simpkins appeared in The Nice Guys in 2016
Closely following his role in "Jurassic World," Ty Simpkins made a cameo in Shane Black's retro detective film "The Nice Guys" in 2016. Black knew Simpkins from directing him in "Iron Man 3," and the young actor must have made a good impression to be featured in the opening scene of one of Black's most critically lauded films.
Speaking with Collider in 2015, Simpkins revealed that Black actually offered him the role at a party. "He's talking about this movie that he's doing and he's like, 'Yeah it's called The Nice Guys, it's about these two guys who have to solve a murder mystery about a porn star,'" Simpkins said. "And then he was like, 'There's actually a part in the beginning for someone like you, Ty.'" A few months later, Simpkins was in Atlanta shooting the scene.
Simpkins plays an unnamed, rambunctious kid who sneaks into his parents' room late at night while they're asleep and steals an X-rated magazine from under the bed. The character immediately opens the magazine to its centerfold and finds a photo of an adult actress named Misty Mountains. Suddenly, a blue convertible crashes through the kid's house and lands in a nearby ditch. Upon investigation, Simpkins' character finds that the car's passenger is none other than Misty Mountains herself, who delivers an essential clue to solving her murder right before succumbing to her injuries. The film never returns to Simpkins' character, but it's easy to imagine him needing some serious therapy.
Ty Simpkins has done a lot of live theater, too
After his cameo in "The Nice Guys," Ty Simpkins took a step away from Hollywood and onscreen acting. Most of the performance work he did for the rest of his school years was onstage, including a small production of "Annie," in which he played Rooster. Most notably, though, Simpkins took part in The Colony Theatre's production of "Cabaret" in 2018.
"Cabaret" takes place in the late 1920s in Berlin, just as the Jazz Age is peaking in popularity and fascism is on the rise. Simpkins played Ernst, the musical's most clearly defined antagonist: a young German smuggler who soon aligns his politics with those of the Nazi party.
The Colony Theatre's production of Cabaret isn't Broadway, but it was put on by Debatable Productions, which also made character-study videos on YouTube to promote the musical. In one such video, Simpkins discusses the duality of his character. Ernst at first appears to be fun and kind, but as the play continues, it becomes clear that he's a man fully devoid of compassion. For his efforts, Simpkins received a BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Award nomination for best featured actor in a musical, alongside the likes of George Takei.
He's been growing up
In addition to his work onstage, Ty Simpkins spent several years after "Jurassic World" and "Iron Man 3" focusing on school and growing up. Simpkins, who was actually named after Ty Cobb by his baseball-obsessed father, loves the sport, having spent many of his grade school years playing. When he was filming part of "Jurassic World" in New Orleans, Simpkins actually ran into his baseball coach, who was a small-part actor playing one of the Indominus rex's sponsors. When he got the call that he would be making a cameo in "Avengers: Endgame," Simpkins was on his way to baseball practice. He's also always been lovingly supported in his creative pursuits by his parents, and his sister, Ryan, is also an actress.
After graduating from high school, Simpkins attended San Diego State University as a theater major. He also joined the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity while there. However, he recently described himself as a "college dropout" in a post on TikTok, so it seems his path led him in another direction.
On his Instagram, Ty has uploaded many photos of himself at baseball parks across the country. His TikTok account is also quite active, as he makes posts about his daily life, including videos with his girlfriend. He also has two dogs and a cat named Rufus, Chapin, and Sugar.
Simpkins reprised his Iron Man 3 role in Avengers: Endgame
Even though many industry outlets reported on Ty Simpkin's alleged casting in "Avengers: Endgame" well before the movie had an official title, many viewers were still surprised to see him reprise his role as Harley Keener during Tony Stark's funeral at the end of the movie.
When asked by HuffPost about people's perplexed and occasionally confused reactions to his appearance in the film, Simpkins said, "I definitely thought that a couple people would get it. I wasn't really sure people would remember me or not, but I was kind of more focused on the fact that I was in the movie."
Simpkins was mostly just excited to be on set with the long list of talented actors who were also present the day they filmed Tony's funeral. In the same interview with HuffPost, he said that he and Robert Downey Jr. still text and check in with each other from time to time. As of now, there are no official plans to bring Harley back again in the MCU, but in such a large franchise, anything is possible.
He starred in the indie horror movie Where's Rose
In 2020, Ty Simpkins stepped back in front of the camera to co-star in an indie folk horror movie called "Where's Emily." The actor, who also served as a producer on the film, plays Eric Daniels, whose younger sister Rose goes missing in the woods one day, much to the horror of her family. All seems lost until she turns up again the next day.
Eric is the only person who seems to realize that the Rose who comes back isn't the same one who went missing, and the evil forces inhabiting her make themselves known throughout the course of the film. "Where's Emily" was actually filmed near the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but thanks to a good team and a crowd-funding campaign, it debuted at the Raindance Film Festival in November 2021 and is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime, among other digital platforms.
The film has an 80% critical review score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 71% audience score.
Simpkins returned to big Hollywood films with The Whale
When "The Whale" came out in 2022, most of the attention was focused on Brendan Fraser's triumphant performance. While the film's directing and writing went largely unrecognized during awards season, Fraser won the Academy Award for best actor. He wouldn't have been able to do it in a vacuum, though, and it's largely thanks to the film's supporting players like Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, and Ty Simpkins that he was able to do his best work.
Simpkins co-stars in the film as Thomas, the Christian missionary who continually dogs Fraser's Charlie, hoping that he can convince him to embrace the will of God. "The Whale" marked Simpkins's return to significant parts in big-time Hollywood pictures.
Aronofsky told Vanity Fair about the process for casting Simpkins as Thomas in 2023. "Right before we were about to start to rehearse, Mary Vernieu, our casting director, was like, 'Oh, there's this one guy, Ty Simpkins. He was a child actor,"' the director said. "But he hadn't acted in a while. He was kind of taking a break from it for a while. But he got on tape, and the next day he got on a plane and joined us in New York, where we shot the film, and he was great." Aronofsky praised Simpkins for his vulnerability and comedic timing in particular.
He starred in Insidious: The Red Door
After 10 years away from the franchise, Ty Simpkins returned to "Insidious" in 2023, this time as a co-lead. He originally played the role of Dalton Lambert when the character was just a young boy who got caught up fighting evil forces and demons alongside his equally terrified parents. In 2023's "Insidious: The Red Door," Dalton's parents (played by Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson) are now divorced, and he's just starting his first year of college.
Looper interviewed Simpkins alongside one of his co-stars, Sinclair Daniel, who plays Dalton's college roommate. When asked about his own experience growing up and how it parallels Dalton's, Simpkins explained, "When I first got the script for this, I was a freshman in college at the time. A lot of what I was going through, minus the demonic stuff, Dalton was going through it in this movie."
It makes sense that Simpkins' first real starring role as an adult would be in the "Insidious" franchise, as that's really what put him on the Hollywood map when he was a child actor. He's worked with Patrick Wilson several times over the years and was excited to be a part of the actor's directorial debut. "He has been a part of my life for a long time, on and off set," Simpkins told Looper. "Any chance I get to work with him, I'm going to take."