Movies - TV
Robert Downey Jr. Snuck A Game-Changing Easter Egg Into The First Iron Man
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
Before becoming one of the world’s wealthiest and most recognizable movie stars thanks to his “Iron Man” role, Robert Downey Jr. had a prolonged struggle with substance abuse.
Speaking with Empire Magazine, Downey Jr. shared that eating a terrible Burger King hamburger was a life-changing moment of clarity, and it may have been referenced in “Iron Man.”
After a wounded and traumatized Tony Stark returns to the U.S. after his imprisonment and escape, the billionaire weapons manufacturer refuses to create more tools of destruction.
When his business partner Obadiah Stane tries to convince him to continue, Tony calls for an American cheeseburger. A sandwich is handed to him, and he takes a few bites.
The scene depicted what was to be Tony’s ostensible final moment of crass American consumerism. The burger offered relief but was gross, crass, and destructive.
Afterward, Tony announced that Stark Industries would no longer make weapons of mass destruction. This change is similar to Downey Jr.’s own moment of change.
The actor recalled driving around Los Angeles with “tons of f***ing dope.” Downey Jr. would often eat food from drive-thru’s to take the edge off until one particular night.
After eating the burger, Downey Jr. shared that he, “[...] thought something really bad was going to happen.” He then drove to the beach and threw all his drugs in the ocean.