Robert Downey Jr. gets blunt when asked if he is anything like his Marvel Cinematic Universe character, Tony Stark, in real life. Downey debuted as Stark in 2008’s Iron Man, with the character having died in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Downey’s Iron Man became one of the MCU’s most beloved characters — if not the fan favorite — in large part due to the actor’s charm in the role. Given the fact that the actor is known for having a somewhat similar past to the character, the personal connection between RDJ and Tony Stark has been raised time and again, but it seems the actor is not really fond of the connection.

RDJ’s magnetic performance as Iron Man led to some of the MCU’s best movies and scenes.

RDJ first answered the question about his similarities to Tony Stark in an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in 2018, and a new profile by Vanity Fair has brought the actor’s direct answer to the question back. Despite his iconic work across all three Iron Man movies and his other MCU appearances, Downey Jr. guarantees he is not like Tony in real life, saying, “I ain’t him, I’ll tell you that flat out.” RDJ got even more direct, claiming, “I’m just a fucking actor.” Downey thinks his wish to leave his “interesting past” behind is what translates to his performance as Tony Stark. Check out the full quote below:

“I ain’t him, I’ll tell you that flat out. There’s always a bit of a burn-off period when they run out of call sheets for me in any of these movies, and I go back to being a little bit more of just…I’m just a fucking actor. I’m just a guy—who does have a very interesting past, who does not regret it, who wished to shut the door on it. I think that that translates.”

20 Best Iron Man Quotes From The MCU

As one of the wittiest characters in the MCU, it isn’t surprising that Iron Man has some of the best quotes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.Will RDJ’s Tony Stark Ever Return To The MCU?

Marvel’s Multiverse Saga Could Make It Happen

Recently, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed Iron Man will not be resurrected, with RDJ’s Tony Stark remaining dead after having sacrificed himself to save the universe from Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. While that closes the door to one way of bringing Downey back as Iron Man, the MCU could still have the actor return to the role in different ways. The Multiverse Saga opens up many options for RDJ to return.

The actor could come back as a Tony Stark variant from another universe. In recent years, Marvel fans showed interest in Tom Cruise appearing as an Iron Man variant in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While that did not come to pass, RDJ could end up fulfilling that fan request, with the MCU seeing Downey play Superior Iron Man in one of the next two Avengers movies, perhaps with the hero coming from the universe that will collide with the main MCU Earth to form Avengers: Secret Wars‘ expected incursion.

Another path the MCU could take to have RDJ return without resurrecting Tony Stark is to have the actor come back as an AI. In the comics, following Tony’s death, it is revealed that the genius made a copy of himself as an AI. Like what happened in the pages of Marvel Comics, the MCU could see Downey Jr. play an AI version of Tony as Stark mentors Riri Williams as she becomes Ironheart. There are also a few more possible roads Marvel could take if Downey is game to return as Iron Man, though the actor might be ready for a career change after his awards buzz with Oppenheimer.