There have been more than a dozen different posters and over a hundred still images released for
Iron Man 2, yet actor
Sam Rockwell, who plays Tony Stark's nemesis, Justin Hammer, appears in almost none of it and he was the only main actor who didn't appear at the press junket. So, when I had my turn at the microphone, I asked director
Jon Favreau about his absence and if there had been some sort of falling out with Rockwell.
In response to my question, Favreau said:
"Yes. You hit the mother lode." Actor
Robert Downey, Jr. interjected:
"I was wondering the same question. However, according to Favreau, Rockwell's absence was only a matter of logistics and not because of any "beef" between Rockwell and the rest of the cast.
"Sam's in a play. He's on Broadway doing a play right now. He's also going to be at the premiere so you can ask him then. Ever since our first collaboration when he was the gender-unspecific concierge in Made
, I knew that he was an inspiring, inspiring dude. I wish he could be here, selfishly, 'cause he's a fun, funny guy. And, he was always a fountainhead of ideas and great stuff and I wish he could have been here. And, so, unfortunately, there's no fire where that smoke is." Before they could yank the microphone away from me, I asked a follow-up question about Rockwell being considered for the part of Tony Stark, which did not sit well with Downey, Jr., who interjected:
"That's enough, this is embarrassing. You're embarrassing yourself." Fortunately, Favreau was much more gracious and did answer my question:
"Well, we were putting a list together long before I even met with Robert. And, I thought of him as sort of an untraditional, interesting, other way to go as we were listing a lot of younger actors that didn't have a lot of experience, that were a little more traditionally, uh, what you would think for a superhero role. Then, when I met Robert, pretty much we clicked, and I knew that that was the guy. But, as Justin Hammer, I think you see a cool, goofy image of—Justin Hammer wishes he was Tony Stark and he really embraced that aspect of the character and I think it's fun for that way. He has a ball with it."
ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.