Robert Downey Jr. on his relationship with Tom Holland
Much has been made of the relationship between Downey and Holland and, more specifically, Parker and Stark. The relationship, certainly in the films, purposely taps into a master-apprentice vibe between the pair. Downey is clear to nix a theory that he knows only too well is out in the real world, mushrooming on Marvel forums and fan sites: that Holland/Parker/Downey/Stark are forming a bond or legacy that goes beyond team members and colleagues with superpowers.
“I am protective of Tom, sure,” explains Downey. “But I protect his right to be his own man. We have a very, very difficult to explain affinity for each other. I won’t, for example, if asked, extemporise about how incredible he is in the movie. This is because my endorsement is automatic. Did I expect him to get good notices from his part in Cherry? Yes. Do I need to supercharge these notices? No, I do not. We are brothers. He comes to my house in Malibu when he rolls through town. I FaceTime him when he’s in the pub. I am not his weird, rich uncle. He is not my protégé. We’re just… folk.”
Robert Downey Jr. on his and Tom’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
How then could Cherry affect Holland’s own trajectory, I ask Downey. “Look, Tom won’t be playing Spider-Man when he’s 37. At least I hope not. And when you’re in the MCU, there’s a feeling of all life beginning with it and ending it. But there’s life outside too. I can confirm this. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. It’s funny, I bumped into Keanu [Reeves] the other day, somewhere in Malibu, I think, and he told me he’d just been filming The Matrix again; he’d stepped back into that world that he once occupied. I asked him what it felt like: ‘Like being in Australia.’
“What I am saying is there was a Spider-Man before Tom Holland and there will be a Spider-Man after Tom Holland. That’s facts, Tommo. Sorry.” What about Downey, I ask, unable to resist: now he’s out, could he ever find himself stepping back into the MCU again? As Iron Man? “Well…” he mummers. “I have alighted, for now. Real world to save. But never say never.”
Y/N: I saw this “how to make homemade paper” tutorial on youtube and decided I wanted to try to make paper too, and here it is! *Shows everyone the paper they made*
Steve: Wow, that’s awesome, Y/N.
Wanda: Yeah, I like the colors! Can you show me how to make it?
Y/N:Sure-
Tony: Hey, has anyone seen my important mission reports?
Y/N: Uh… No?
Clint: Y/N, how did you make those?
Y/N: Um, I blended paper, that I found laying around, with water…
Tony: May I ask where you got the paper?
Y/N: I may or may not have gotten them from the break room…
Happy Birthday to the man who made me fall in love with a comic book character - something I never thought could happen because I’ve never followed comics really, a man who embodied a character with such elan, he made him real.
Happy Birthday Robert Downey Jr. Thank you for making superheroes relatable, and 3000 times cooler.
