Entertainment Weekly has posted today's segment from their extensive interview with
Iron Man 3 star Robert Downey Jr., and in the third segment of a five-part chat, the actor discusses the role of Sir Ben Kingsley's Mandarin in the anticipated Marvel sequel. Reiterating prior comments made about the Oscar award winning actor's take on the legendary villain, Downey says that Kingsley will likely steal the show.
"Sir Ben is probably going to steal the movie. There are a lot of contenders who may, but right now he’s probably at the top of that list. He came in as, obviously – speaking of training – as such a technically proficient instrument. And then what proceeded to happen was the release of more vintage, old-school Favreau [improv] stuff with a Shane Black twist on it. It was kind of frightening to witness, I’ll tell you that much."
Downey also commented on bonding with Kingsley after his accident while filming
Iron Man 3, which resulted in a sprained ankle and production coming to a halt.
"We hadn’t worked together so we shared only Lord Attenborough, and yeah, of course, there was a connection. We took some pictures together to send Dickie, which must be the strangest visual for him to see — the two of us playing the bad guy and the good guy. We shot them out in front of a mansion in Miami, it was a magical place, actually. [Vizcaya] was an interesting place, very cool. And it was an interesting time. As you know, I busted my ankle [in August] and we shut down for a little while, and it ended up being great for us. It was the first time [on any movie] in my personal history we got the creative luxury of being able to stop about two-thirds of the way through and really recalibrate everything and prepare for all of the hurdles ahead. And the mainstay of the Ben/Mandarin was kind of up next and straight away throughout, and then lots of Rhodey stuff and lots of fight stuff." Finally, EW brings up the fact that, with Disney (who owns Marvel) now owning the
Star Wars franchise, the likes of Tony Stark, Jack Sparrow and Han Solo are now "Disney heroes" of sorts. Downey's reply? "
Wow, I had not thought of it like that. It’s good for the universe. Office party!" Stay tuned to CBM for more of Entertainment Weekly's interview with the actor later this week.
Iron Man 3 stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau and Sir Ben Kingsley. The film is set to hit theaters May 3rd this year.
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