Even though it was a risk at the time, it’s impossible to imagine anyone other than Robert Downey, Jr. taking on the role of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He just embodies the character so much and defined the essence of the MCU with his performance in “Iron Man,” it’s just crazy to think of anyone else being able to replicate that. Well, over at Marvel Studios, it wasn’t as easy as you might think to bring in RDJ, and so other people auditioned, including Timothy Olyphant
And in a recent episode of The Playlist’s Bingeworthy podcast, Timothy Olyphant talked about the process of auditioning for the Tony Stark role in “Iron Man,” and how he holds no ill will towards director Jon Favreau after getting passed up. (Apparently, landing a “Star Wars” role is payment enough.)
“I can only tell you that I remember thinking that was the first time where, because I’m a bit of a slow learner and I think I was scared to death of the things that come with success in this business, but that was the time where I remember thinking, ‘Well, I can’t get any more grounded and so this would be fun,’” Olyphant said about auditioning for “Iron Man.” “I think prior to that I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t want those kinds of problems.’ And I think part of that appeal was those conversations that I had with [Jon] Favreau – I just have a tremendous amount of respect for him and I just like the guy. He’s just a good dude.”
He continued, “And so, if you’re going to go down that road, you’re not going to find anyone better to go down it with, so I have fond memories of that experience, you know? I try to see things simply for what they are and not what they could be and any conversations I had with Jon about that job and about that process, I remember it very fondly. It was an enjoyable process…And, well, he’s the one who hired me for [‘The Mandalorian’], so he doesn’t owe me anything.”
On paper, Olyphant would be an inspired choice for Stark. He has the charm and leading man qualities that it would take to inhabit the role. But also, you are probably getting a very different version of Iron Man, right? Olyphant has the ability to perform well in a comedy, but he has a much more serious demeanor in almost everything he takes on. At the time, in a pre-RDJ world, that actually works well for the character of Tony Stark. It resembles the version we saw in comic books for decades. However, it’s so difficult to imagine anything other than the self-aware snark from Downey, Jr. that someone like Olyphant seems like such a crazy choice.
Alas, Olyphant was passed up, but he did eventually work with Favreau on “The Mandalorian,” so that seems like a decent enough resolution. Now, you can watch Olyphant in the new season of “Justified: City Primeval” on FX now.
– Additional reporting by Mike DeAngelo