Elon Musk is frequently compared to the character Tony Stark, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. in the Marvel films. However, it seems the actor himself is not particularly pleased with this "cosplay" and believes that the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX should "better manage his behavior."
"I’ve only met him a few times, and I just wish he would control his behavior a bit more," Downey Jr. said in a New York Magazine podcast.
The comparison of Musk to Tony Stark is not entirely unfounded. In 2016, Iron Man director Jon Favreau claimed that the billionaire "influenced some elements" of Downey Jr.’s character on-screen, and the actor had "spent some time with the businessman" to better understand his role.
The director also mentioned that some scenes for Iron Man 2 were filmed at SpaceX facilities and that he had "maintained a friendship" with Musk after the movie (Elon even made a brief cameo in it).
As for the relationship between Downey Jr. and Elon, it seems to have soured somewhat since then. In other interviews, the actor criticized the billionaire's idea of colonizing Mars.
"This idea of 'Everything is fine, so we should get to Mars' does not hold up to my scrutiny," Downey Jr. stated.
In recent years, Musk has increasingly found himself in controversies—particularly following his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter and the problematic changes made to the platform, as well as his contentious statements regarding Covid-19 vaccinations, conspiracy theories, and comments toward Ukraine (including his suggestion to surrender Crimea to Russia and hold new referendums in occupied territories).
At the same time, Downey Jr. did not dismiss Musk's contributions to the tech industry in his interview.
"You have to agree with the things Musk has done, what he demonstrates, and why he is valuable," the actor said. "But today, it's hard to separate the person from his behavior."
Downey Jr. concluded his portrayal of Iron Man in Marvel's 2019 film Avengers: Endgame, but will return to the franchise as the supervillain Doctor Doom in the films Avengers: Judgment Day and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Source: Business Insider, Independent
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