Robert Downey Jr. is surprisingly shorter than many of his Avengers co-stars. According to IMDb, the actor’s height is mentioned as 5’8″, which is an inch short of the average height for an American male (5′9″). However, his height difference with his co-stars is brilliantly covered up in the Marvel movies.
Gwyneth Paltrow once shared in an interview that Downey Jr. didn’t want her wearing high heels around him in the movies. Paltrow stands tall at 5’9″. She shared, “He doesn’t like me to wear high heels around him because he doesn’t want me to be taller than him cuz he’s Iron Man.”
Fans would’ve noticed some scenes between them where Paltrow was seen barefoot beside him. He also allegedly used high heels to hide the height differences with his co-stars.
Robert Downey Jr. vs Tony Stark Height & Weight
Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow’s height difference was not just a point of concern for the actor. Tony Stark was much taller than his assistant and later romantic interest, Pepper Potts, in the comics. Not only that, Tony is a towering figure according to comics, and he stands tall at 6 feet 5 inches.
When he is in the Iron Man suit, the comic character’s height increases significantly. Now, according to this Marvel Size Chart, Tony Stark in the Iron Man suit is taller than Captain America, Vision, Spider-Man, Hank Pym, and Black Panther.
Interestingly, the MCU versions of these characters are probably taller, with the exception of Tom Holland. In the comics, some of the characters taller than Tony Stark are Thor, She-Hulk, and the Hulk.
The comic book version of Tony Stark weighs 225 lbs. Before he took on the Iron Man role, Downey Jr. measured 150 lbs in weight. He put on an additional 25 lbs and bulked up his body for the first Iron Man movie. He is currently 180 lbs in weight.
Robert Downey Jr. vs Tony Stark Ethnicity & Nationality
Robert Downey Jr.’s father, Robert Downey Sr., was half Lithuanian Jewish, a quarter Hungarian Jewish, and a quarter Irish. His mother, Elsie Downey, had Scottish, German, and Swiss ancestry. So, the Dolittle actor has a diverse European ancestry from both his father’s and mother’s sides. He was born in Manhattan, New York, making him a natural-born American.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark’s ethnicity is not something consistent across the movies and comics. In the MCU, Tony is depicted as the biological child of Howard and Maria Stark, making him a Caucasian/White American in ethnicity. Interestingly, in the Marvel Comics, Tony was revealed to be the adopted son of Howard and Maria Stark in some storylines.
It was mentioned that his biological mother was British. His biological father was a double agent for Hydra, who also had European ancestry. Interestingly, one version of the comic book Tony Stark was a Latino. In the Ultimate Iron Man series run, his character’s biological mother was revealed to be Maria Cerrera, a Latina. However, the character is widely recognized in the comics as White.
Robert Downey Jr. As Iron Man: Comic Accuracy
The MCU version of Iron Man followed the comics accurately with regard to some aspects of the character. The movie character’s armor was inspired by those in the comics. This included all his suits from the first suit of armor built in the cave in Afghanistan to the Hulkbuster armor scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
He was a founding member of the Avengers, as the movies depicted. The movies also nailed Tony Stark’s stance with respect to the hero registration initiative, aka the Sokovia Accords. He fought Captain America like in the movies and even wielded the Infinity Stones like in Avengers: Endgame.
However, there were elements that were significantly different in the movies and comics. His relationship with Pepper Potts had a different storyline in the comics, as opposed to the movies. Pepper was in a relationship with Happy Hogan, which never happened in the movies.
He didn’t create Ultron and cause the issues in Sokovia. He didn’t have a mentor-like relationship with Spider-Man in the comics, nor did he have a daughter. Most importantly, his death in Avengers: Endgame was something imagined by the writers.
What do you think of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in the movies? Was he able to play a comic-accurate Iron Man? Let us know in the comments below!
All the movies mentioned here are available for streaming on Disney+.
