2008–present: Iron Man, blockbuster films and further success

Downey promoting Iron Man in Mexico City in 2008

With all of the critical success Downey had experienced throughout his career, he had not appeared
in a "blockbuster" film. That changed in 2008 when Downey starred in two critically and commercially
successful films, Iron Man and Tropic Thunder. In the article Ben Stiller wrote for Downey's entry in
the 2008 edition of The Time 100, he offered an observation on Downey's commercially successful
summer at the box office:
Yes, Downey is Iron Man, but he really is Actor Man ... In the realm where box office is irrelevant and
talent is king, the realm that actually means something, he has always ruled, and finally this summer
he gets to have his cake and let us eat him up all the way to the multiplex, where his mastery is in
full effect.

— Ben Stiller, The 2008 Time 100, entry No. 60, "Robert Downey Jr."[79]
In 2007, Downey was cast as the title character in the film Iron Man,[80] with director Jon
Favreau explaining the choice by stating: "Downey wasn't the most obvious choice, but he
understood what makes the character tick. He found a lot of his own life experience in 'Tony
Stark'."[81] Favreau insisted on having Downey as he repeatedly claimed that Downey would be
to Iron Man what Johnny Depp is to the Pirates of the Caribbean series: a lead actor who could both
elevate the quality of the film and increase the public's interest in it. [46][82][83][84] For the role Downey had
to gain more than 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of muscle in five months to look like he "had the power to
forge iron".[85]
Iron Man was globally released between April 30 and May 3, 2008, grossing over $585 million
worldwide[86] and receiving rave reviews which cited Downey's performance as a highlight of the film.
[87][88][89]
 By October 2008, Downey had agreed to appear as Iron Man in two Iron Man sequels, as part
of the Iron Man franchise, as well as The Avengers, featuring the superhero team that Stark joins,
based on Marvel's comic book series The Avengers.[90] He first reprised the role in a small
appearance as Iron Man's alter ego Tony Stark in the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, as a part
of Marvel Studios' depicting the same Marvel Universe on film by providing continuity among the
movies.[91]
After Iron Man, Downey appeared alongside Ben Stiller and Jack Black in the Stiller-directed Tropic
Thunder. The three actors play a Hollywood archetype—with Downey playing self-absorbed multi-
Oscar-winning Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus—as they star in an extremely
expensive Vietnam-era film called Tropic Thunder. Lazarus undergoes a "controversial skin
pigmentation procedure" in order to take on the role of African-American platoon sergeant Lincoln
Osiris, which required Downey to wear dark makeup and a wig. Both Stiller and Downey feared
Downey's portrayal of the character could become controversial:
Stiller says that he and Downey always stayed focused on the fact that they were skewering
insufferable actors, not African Americans. "I was trying to push it as far as you can within reality",
Stiller explains. "I had no idea how people would respond to it". Stiller screened a rough cut of the
film [in March 2008] and it scored high with African Americans. He was relieved at the reaction. "It
seems people really embrace it", he said.[92]
When asked by Harry Smith on CBS's The Early Show who his model was for Lazarus, Downey
laughed before responding, "Sadly, my sorry-ass self." [93]
Released in the United States on August 13, 2008, Tropic Thunder received good reviews with 83%
of reviews positive and an average normalized score of 71, according to the review aggregator
websites Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, respectively.[94][95] It earned US$26 million in its North
American opening weekend and retained the number one position for its first three weekends of
release. The film grossed $180 million in theaters before its release on home video on November 18,
2008. Downey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of
Lazarus.[96]

Downey with Rachel McAdams at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International

Opening in late April 2009 was a film Downey finished in mid-2008, The Soloist. The film was
delayed from a November 2008 release by Paramount Pictures due to the studio's tight end-of-year
release schedule.[97] Critics who had seen the film in 2008 were mentioning it as a possible Academy
Award candidate.[98] Downey picked up an Academy Award nomination for the 2008 release year for
his role in Tropic Thunder.[99]