He claims Robert Downey Jr. 'got the millions I was supposed to get'
Iron Man was where the Marvel Cinematic Universe began. For Terrence Howard though it was also the end of his MCU journey.
The 2008 blockbuster was the first film in Phase One of
the MCU and saw Robert Downey Jr. make his debut as Tony Stark. It also saw Howard star as the original James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, a.k.a. War Machine.
Howard was in fact the highest paid actor in the movie, but he has since claimed that Downey Jr. owes him the small matter of $100m.
In a 2015 interview with
Rolling Stone, Howard explained that Marvel bosses originally didn't want to book the
Natural Born Killers star due to "his past drug problems".
But Howard, who was offered $3.5 million for the first
Iron Man and an additional $5 million if a sequel got made, agreed to take a $1 million pay cut from his salary if they booked Downey Jr. for the film.
And the rest is history.
[caption id="attachment_363782" align="alignnone" width="1510"]
Howard claimed he took a $1m pay cut so that Marvel would sign up Downey Jr. for 'Iron Man' (Marvel Studios)[/caption]
Howard told
Rolling Stone that "Robert was so thankful."
But unfortunately for Howard, things didn't go to plan for the sequel. His agent got a call from Marvel saying they were cutting down his part and therefore his salary.
When his agent turned down the offer, the studio decided to find a replacement and shortly found Don Cheadle for the role.
Disappointed with the move, Howard continued: "And so I called Robby and was like, 'Look, man . . .' Leaving messages with his assistants, called him at least 17 times that day and 21 the next and finally left a message saying, 'Look, man, I need the help that I gave you.' Never heard from him.
"And guess who got the millions I was supposed to get? He got the whole franchise, so I've actually given him $100 million, which ends up being a $100 million loss for me from me trying to look after somebody."
But he insists he has no regrets over his actions, saying that he "would do the same thing" today because "it's just my nature."
Whilst Downey Jr has left the MCU following Iron Man's death in Avengers: Endgame (if that's a spoiler then that's on you) Cheadle is set to lead the franchise's Armor Wars.
