Terrence Howard, who starred in the first Iron Man movie, has claimed that Robert Downey Jr. owes him $100 million.
The co-stars were both paid millions of dollars for their roles in the franchise.
Read on for the full story!
Robert Downey Jr. is one of the best-loved stars on the planet.
Mainly thanks to his legendary performance in the Iron Man films!
The movie’s had a huge effect on the whole superhero industry.
Iron Man introduced Tony Stark as the first official member of the Avengers.
It was definitely a pivotal moment for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The movie was so well received that it even found praise outside of the Marvel fanbase!
Iron Man did become part of something bigger…
It is regarded as the start of phase one of the MCU’s creation.
And it was clearly a huge success…
The first Iron Man movie alone made almost $600 million!
From there, the universe expanded with a whole host of different characters.
The end of the first phase culminated in the classic The Avengers movie from 2012.
But there’s an even more major thing that Iron Man did for the superhero industry.
He introduced the idea of a modern superhero.
Iron Man, in short, tells the story of a billionaire genius, who builds a powered armored suit in order to try and escape from terrorists.
But then he discovers a need to use his powers to fight evil and bring justice to the world…
The story revolves around Tony Stark, who inherits Stark Industries from his father.
However, not before long, Stark gets caught up in a terrorist attack.
Long story short, Stark manages to escape by creating the iconic powered armour suit.
And under all of this technology, Iron Man is just a human man with no superpowers.
This is what makes Downey Jr.’s character one of the most beloved out there.
At the end of the day, the skin underneath it all makes him just like me and you!
Downey Jr. played Iron Man in ten different movies.
Fans are even convinced that the actor deserves an Oscar for some of his performances!
However, Downey Jr. has been previously nominated for an Oscar — twice, in fact…
He was nominated for his role in Tropic Thunder in 2008, as well as Chaplin back in 1993.
However, Downey Jr. hasn’t always had it so smooth sailing…
In fact, the beginning of the star’s career was pretty rocky indeed!
The star’s father, Robert Downey Sr., was also an actor and filmmaker, but their relationship was strained.
However, as Downey Jr. said in his own words, as per The Washington Post: “When my dad and I would do drugs together, it was like him trying to express his love for me in the only way he knew how.”
His father’s struggles with addiction affected him so much that he followed suit.
Downey Jr. would “spend every night out getting drunk … making a thousand phone calls in pursuit of drugs.”
However, soon enough the star fell into trouble with the law.
He was arrested multiple times between 1996 and 2001 for various drug charges.
However, thankfully Downey Jr. turned things around after a stint in rehab.
He rocked back onto the movie scene in 2003 in The Singing Detective.
But things changed for the actor when he bagged the lead role in Iron Man…
It marked Downey’s first big blockbuster role.
But now, one of his co-stars from the first Iron Man movie has claimed that Downey Jr. owes him big time…
$100 million, in fact!
Terrence Howard, who played James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes, said that Downey Jr. owes him a fortune.
The Empire star made the claims in an interview with Rolling Stone back in 2015, as per UNILAD.
Howard explained that the casting directors were initially hesitant about booking Downey Jr.
This was due to his past problems with drugs.
Howard had been initially offered $3.5 million to star in the first movie, with an extra $5 million on top if they made a sequel.
However, he agreed to take a $1 million pay cut for the hire of Downey Jr. in the lead role.
Yet by the time the second movie rolled around, Marvel told Howard they were cutting down his part — and so his salary too.
He declined the offer, and Don Cheadle picked up the role instead.
Howard said he called Downey Jr. asking for a helping hand.
He said: “I called Robby and was like, ‘Look, man . . .’ Leaving messages with his assistants, called him at least seventeen times that day and twenty-one the next and finally left a message saying, ‘Look, man, I need the help that I gave you.’ Never heard from him.
“And guess who got the millions I was supposed to get? He got the whole franchise.”
He continued: “So I’ve actually given him $100 million, which ends up being a $100 million loss for me from me trying to look after somebody.”
The actor claimed that, regardless of his losses, he would do it again.
“You know, to this day I would do the same thing. It’s just my nature,” the fifty-three-year-old said.
What do you think about Howard’s comments?