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"You know who I am." 

That's the tagline Robert Downey Jr. has as his social media bio, but unbeknownst to most people, we're in a liminal phase moving beyond the RDJ you do know and into something else. In the first Iron Man movie - the one which got the whole MCU rolling - RDJ-as-Tony Stark responded to a reporter by saying "I'm just not the hero type," before proclaiming, "I am Iron Man." Here now in 2024, however, he is definitely moving beyond Marvel Studios' "hero type" with what comes next: returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Victor Von Doom.

While some see this as RDJ threading the needle and moving from becoming MCU's biggest hero to becoming the MCU's biggest villain, it's part of a larger move by the actor regarding his career to move beyond the classic leading man role and into more nuanced, complicated and sometimes messy territory.

You saw it as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer. You saw it as his four characters in HBO's The Sympathizer. And you're going to see it in Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday.

You knew who Robert Downey Jr. was, but now you're about to see who Robert Downey Jr. is.

RDJ and the dignity of characters - whether hero, villain, or simply human

Although we sometimes get distracted by the spectacle and CGI that is a part of Robert Downey Jr.'s MCU ouvre, what made his Marvel movies different that what came before was how he identified and exemplified Tony Stark as a character before he suited up as Iron Man. What we witnessed was RDJ being fearless in playing a character who had no idea how ridiculous they are - something that is a hallmark of the actor's performances throughout his career, from 1992's Chaplin, 2005's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, 2008's Tropic Thunder, 2023's Oppenheimer, and as most clearly as TV reporter Wayne Gale in 1994's Natural Born Killers.

In all but one of those, Robert Downey Jr. isn't the "hero type" or even the leading man - and in the one where he is, the movie is literally about him playing an actor who by choosing that path has seen his life burdened, and indeed wrecked, by it. But in each, he takes on these characters with a dignity regarding not just their personalities but also their humanity. And through that, he elicits sympathy that has become his calling card for viewers - but also for the eye of the cameraperson filming the whole thing.

While Downey has expertly played the leading man in many of the MCU movies and in other projects such as Sherlock Holmes and Chaplin, I'd argue he actually works best as a character actor; not necessarily in terms of being a supporting character, but in supporting the story of the movie (or TV series) instead of becoming the story of said project.

Why the villain and antagonist roles are Robert Downey Jr.'s next step

As we have said, following the success of 2008's Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. went on to be the leading man in movies like Sherlock Holmes, Doolittle, and The Judge. In terms of box office, both Sherlock films did good, and both Doolittle and The Judge broke even - but they all failed to reach something Downey is looking for to keep going at those.

While he could keep going as the leading man, he instead began looking for something different. He turned down the titular role in HBO's Perry Mason and didn't chance an opportunity for the lead role in The King's Speech. Instead, Downey - through his production company Team Downey - he has quietly been developing this next stage of the actor's career.

To borrow a line from another hero's movie, "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. Look. Whoever the Batman is, he doesn't want to do this for the rest of his life. He's looking for someone to take up his mantle." That was written by Jonathan Nolan for The Dark Knight Rises, and actually fits what Downey is doing to a tee. Downey gave up playing the hero (in this case Iron Man) for the rest of his life, and is in fact becoming a literal villain (in Doctor Doom) as Marvel looks for someone to take up his mantle as the flagbearer of the MCU.

And he is finding a place for him to be creative outside the spotlight of the leading man - as Marvel Studios' Doctor Doom and Oppenheimer's Lewis Strauss, but also as executive producer on such projects as Netflix's Sweet Tooth, HBO's The Sympathizer, as well as five upcoming movies & TV shows where his role is off-camera.

Who is Robert Downey Jr.? He's not Iron Man, he is us

As Downey has segued from being the comedic relief in the '80s to being the troubled dramatist in the '90s and then the literal superhero type in the '00s and '10s, he's been playing a character. And as he segues into his villain era firmly, he'll again be a character - and while some might bristle at the reach he's attempting, at the end of the day if you don't take risks you don't find out who you are.

Like all of us, Downey is fallible. His private life has been the subject of newspaper headlines, and his personal and professional recovery is aspirational. But as we all have had out troubles as well as triumphs, in him beats the heart of the person who made those choices - much in the same way we are changed by the choices we make.

As Robert Downey Jr. begins his career pivot out of the the hero spotlight and into the darkness - both literal as a villain, but also metaphorical in being offstage as a producer - you might be surprised how much you enjoy him in that role.

Acting is all play, and sometimes we all like to play the villain. Why shouldn't Robert Downey Jr.?.

Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights:

• Marvel Studios has accidentally created a new Phase that predates Phases 1 - 6: the MCU Phase Zero
• Which Secret Wars comic the Russos are basing Avengers 6 off of
• Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak
• The biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows
• Marvel's accidental closure on the Kang storyline
• Robert Downey Jr. is entering his villain era
• Donald Trump is the landlord for Marvel's House of Ideas
• For Marvel actors, the MCU also stands for the Marvel Commercials Universe
• The Fantastic 4: First Steps offers Marvel a visual makeover, courtesy of a classic movie designer
• Marvel Studios swapping out Doctor Doom for Kang offers the chance to jettison the Multiverse Saga