Chris Evans Confirms What We Suspected About Robert Downey Jr.
More than any other single person, it's Robert Downey Jr. who kick-started the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his portrayal of Tony Stark in 2008's "Iron Man." Downey's wisecracking playboy took a character that was already beloved by comic book fans and turned him into a darling of the general public — and eventually one of the key components of the blockbuster series of "Avengers" films.
It's become the definitive portrayal of the character in the minds of many fans, and in an interview, Captain America actor Chris Evans went a step further in his praise for Downey's work in the MCU. In doing so, Evans echoes what many of us already believe about Robert Downey Jr. But it's good to hear it from someone who worked so closely with the star across so many films and would therefore know better than most how vital he was to the whole enterprise.
Evans says that there's no one else who could have played Iron Man like Downey
The remarks come from an interview Chris Evans and his brother Scott Evans gave with ACE Universe (via Insider) in March 2021. "I don't think there's anything anyone on this planet could do that would somehow improve upon what Downey's done," Evans said.
Evans went on to make an even bolder assertion about the history of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, on-screen: "I don't consider that a role that's gonna be like a James Bond or a Superman or Batman, that somehow other people get a bite at the apple. He's Iron Man, the end."
That was Evans' response to being asked who in the MCU he'd most like to switch roles with, but his answer is counterbalanced by quite a few reservations, chief among them that it's hard to imagine anyone other than RDJ playing the defense billionaire turned high-tech superhero.