Q&A: Robert Downey Jr. of Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron

Marvel Studios unleashes the next
global phenomenon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Marvel’s
Avengers: Age of Ultron. Good intentions wreak havoc when Tony
Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) unwittingly creates Ultron (James Spader),
a terrifying A.I. monster who vows to achieve “world peace” via
mass extinction. Now, Iron Man, Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor
(Chris Hemsworth) and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) – alongside Black
Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Nick Fury
(Samuel L. Jackson) – must reassemble to defeat Ultron and save
mankind.

With the Blu-ray, Digital HD and DVD of
Marvel’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron about to be released, we
talk to Robert Downey Jr. – who plays Tony Stark/Iron Man in the
movie – to discover his thoughts on the action-packed adventure…

What do you hope the audience gains
from watching Marvel’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron?

I hope people say ‘Wow’ after they
see this film. When you have a big movie like this, there are big
expectations. I hope that audiences feel as good about this as they
did when they came and saw the third Iron Man. And the same as
they did when they saw the most recent Captain America and
Thor. This movie is incredibly fun and thoughtful – and it
has great themes. There is also a whole bunch of new characters and
it really raises the bar. That’s when I know it has my seal of
approval.

Where is Tony Stark when Marvel’s
Avengers: Age Of Ultron opens? And how would you describe
his relationship with The Avengers now?

When the movie starts, Tony is hosting
The Avengers in his tower in New York. He’s working on a system
that will make it so The Avengers don’t have to do what they’ve
been doing all along, which purportedly should be the end game.

Captain America appears to be the
leader of The Avengers in Marvel’s Avengers: Age Of
Ultron. Is Tony Stark happy about that?

There are really only two relationships
in Tony’s life that he’s been willing to assume a lower status.
One is with Pepper Potts, obviously. And the other is with Captain
America.

Why did he decide to let Captain
America take charge?

Tony believes whoever does the job best
should probably do that job. And while Tony brings a lot to the
table, Captain America has the most experience. No one’s more
battle seasoned than Captain America.

Why does Tony Stark care for The
Avengers so much in the movie? In the past, he has been a pretty
selfish guy…

By having them all together, he feels
like it allows him to still be the engineer and the mechanic who
wants to help them all do things a little bit better. It’s like
buying a football team and then wanting to redo their uniforms and
give them better equipment and make them stronger, faster and safer
on the field.

Tony Stark spent a lot of money
upgrading Stark Tower to become The Avengers Tower in the new movie.
Where does he get all this money?

I don’t know of anyone in the history
of any Super Hero franchise who seems never to run out of money!
Tony’s footing the bill and he can swing it, obviously. Pepper has
taken over the business largely, so everything’s going to be a
little more stable than when daddy was just writing checks.

What was it like to wander around
the set of the Avengers Tower?

When I walked onto the set for the
first time, I said, ‘Wow, this is really impressive.” But then,
as we went along, somehow it wasn’t factored in what would happen
when all of the candy glass from the action sequences got ground into
the floor.

Did it become difficult to walk
around the set?

It basically became a futuristic ice
rink that was almost impossible to navigate. The floors looked so
beautiful, but they were so slippery that it added unforeseen amount
of excitement and danger to walking three steps. It also made
everyone a much better dancer.

Every Marvel movie brings something
new and different to its audience. What does Marvel’s
Avengers: Age of Ultron bring to the world this time?

Having new people in the cast is great.
We now have Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Scarlet Witch
and Quicksilver. We have Paul Bettany, who’s been the voice of
Jarvis all along, but now he gets to do something new with a
character named Vision. And I think James Spader was a brilliant
piece of casting for Ultron.

What’s it like to work with James
Spader?

There are a lot of full circles going
on with this movie. Probably the most personal one is James Spader.
He was the first person I saw when I came to Los Angeles and he
really took me under his wing. He’s just a couple years older than
me, but I think it was a very inspired casting choice [to have him in
the movie]. Not just because he’s on everyone’s lips and minds
again, but he really is a bit of an American treasure. I’ve
certainly borrowed from his style more than a few times over the
years.

What was it like to have Paul
Bettany on the set of the movie this time?

Another great full circle moment in
this film is Paul Bettany coming in as Vision. Paul’s been
essentially with me from the beginning and it was so nice to actually
get him on set instead of at the premieres. He’s an amazing actor
and it’s a fantastic character.

What made you perfect for the role
of Tony Stark? And how did you create the character in the first
place?

It was just this perfect storm of
feeling like I could create the character within the guidelines of
what he was always supposed to be. I always thought he was so cool
when I read the comic books. I thought, ‘Let’s just keep it human
and make sure there’s enough wit in there so people don’t think
he’s a stiff. If I do that, it will work out alright.’

How excited were you to return to
the Marvel universe with another Avengers movie?

I read Joss Whedon’s script and I
said, “I think this is great.” Kevin Feige [the president of
Marvel Studios] said, “You never say that. You can’t mean that.”
I said, “Yeah, I think it’s great. Let’s go shoot it.”

What did you like about the script?

What I loved about this script was the
further development of the complexities of the relationship between
all The Avengers. I loved that Thor has a beef with me and then
eventually has to give in and say I’m right. Joss created some
great new situations for Tony to be in. So, rather than digging my
heels and trying to rewrite every scene – to make them even better
– I just showed up, and it turned out great.

What is it about the dynamic between
you and Joss Whedon that works so well?

It’s a respect. Every director-actor
relationship is so different. Joss is really in control and he likes
to have authorship over things. For me, it was about being a little
more receptive. In some ways, it makes the job easier because he has
it figured out already. It’s been great.