Gwyneth Paltrow says Robert Downey Jr. threw away pages of IRON MAN script to keep it alive and fresh

The 2008 Marvel movie Iron Man it was the one that started everything that the cinematic universe became. It was a small independent film with a lot on the line that turned into a blockbuster that launched us into the current era of superhero movies. Things may have gotten out of hand since then, but it appears the tides are changing, at least in Washington, but I digress.

Iron Man it was a fantastic film, and that’s undoubtedly due in large part to him Robert Downey Junior., who was absolutely made for the role. His co-star Gwyneth Paltrow talked about how he approached the film in a recent profile on Downey in Esquire, where he said:

“There would be this process of [director] Jon Favreau, Robert and I go to Jon’s trailer in the morning and Robert says, “I’m not fucking saying these lines,” and we throw them out. And then improvise live in the trailer or on set. I think for something to feel alive to Robert, it has to feel fresh, and he makes it feel fresh by making it feel like it was just invented. A lot of those famous lines were written ten minutes before we said them.”

In the same article, Park Chan-wookthe legendary korean director best known for Old boy, who directed the first three episodes of Downey’s recent series, The sympathizersaid of the actor’s improvisation skills:

“I started wondering if Robert had ten writers in his house that he hired to come up with different jokes, which he would memorize and pretend were improvised. How could he think of something like that so quickly?”

Downey has an exceptional talent for acting and becoming the characters he plays. It’s great to hear about his process from the people he works with. And no matter how unconventional it may seem at the time, he always brings out the best performances.