The Iron Man Scene In Captain America: Civil War You Didn't Realize Was Improvised
Though improv may sometimes cause you to roll your eyes (haven't we all endured a bad improv show?), great actors have used improvisation as a great tool throughout cinema history. For instance, the scene when Indiana Jones shoots a foe that tries to intimidate him with swordplay. Or how about when Willy Wonka somersaults instead of falling on his face as he approaches the contest winners in front of his factory? And of course, there's just about anything Robin Williams ever did. Another great example of improv done well can be found in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, courtesy of Robert Downey Jr.
Alright Spider-Man; Get Me Out Of This
After making his acting debut at age five in his father's film "Pound" in 1970, Downey has had a long and storied career filled with ups and downs. He has portrayed numerous memorable characters, from Charlie Chaplin to Sherlock Holmes and many more in-between. But for the better part of two decades, many came to know him as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. Both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, he established himself as a veteran and a mentor. Interestingly enough, he got to be all of that at once for Tom Holland in "Captain America: Civil War."
Before going on to break massive box office records and become the star of arguably the biggest film of the pandemic, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" star Holland made his debut in the MCU during the Star-Spangled Avenger's third solo theatrical feature. However, being a young actor with only a bit of experience at the time, he missed a cue during the pivotal scene where Stark confirms that Peter Parker of Queens, New York is the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Being the veteran that he is, RDJ skillfully improvised his way through the moment without missing a beat or making his co-star seem foolish. "Civil War" co-director Anthony Russo recalled the moment on the home release commentary alongside his brother/co-director Joe Russo and writer Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
"Tom forgot the blocking of the scene and of course that's Robert staying in character telling him, 'You're supposed to move now so I can sit on the bed.' Not only does he use it, but he uses it in a way that's really entertaining and fun. That's such a dexterous and inventive move on an actor's part."
Surely, Holland learned a lot from Downey after being taken under his wing for multiple movies. Although, not all of those lessons likely ended up in the final cut of the movie and created an iconic moment such as this one. After all, True Believers were meeting the MCU's Spidey for the very first time, so this scene was incredibly important. Thankfully, RDJ was there to do his thing and make this scene all the more memorable.