Marvel board thought ex-studio head was ‘crazy’ for casting ‘addict’ Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man

Downey faced a string of arrests in the late 1990s to early 2000s

Former Marvel Studios president David Maisel revealed he had to fight for Robert Downey Jr’s casting as Iron Man due to fears over the star’s history of drug abuse.

From 1996 to 2001, the actor was arrested numerous times for drug-related crimes. Downey says he has been drug-free since July 2003.

Downey was up against Timothy Olyphant (The Crazies) to play the billionaire-turned-superhero, although, Olyphant was seen as the safer choice.

“My board thought I was crazy to put the future of the company in the hands of an addict,” Maisel told The New Yorker in a recent feature about the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “I helped them understand how great he was for the role. We all had confidence that he was clean and would stay clean.”

The 2008 movie, which also starred Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Favreau, Jeff Bridges and Paul Bettany (in a voice role), went on to take more than $585m (£473.8m) at the global box office. The film is widely credited with kickstarting the MCU thanks, in large part, to Downey’s charismatic turn.

Kevin Feige, who took over from Maisel as Marvel Studios president in 2007, recently called Downey’s casting “one of the greatest decisions in the history of Hollywood”.

“It wasn’t really until we cast Robert that we knew what the take was, and once we cast Robert, every decision became a lot easier,” he said of developing the franchise in an interview with Iron Man director Favreau.

Robert Downey Jr in ‘Iron Man' (Shutterstock)

Downey went on to reprise his role as Tony Stark/Iron Man role in two sequels, as well as four Avengers films, Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Feige added that Marvel “wouldn’t even have a studio” if it weren’t for Downey, joking that he once blamed him for “the mess we’re in”.