Terrence Howard Accuses Robert Downey Jr. of ‘Iron Man’ Sabotage
The actor says that Downey Jr. "took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out" of Marvel's superhero franchise.
Presenter Terrence Howard
Austin HargraveSometimes you might wonder, hey, why didDon Cheadle take over the role of James Rhodes in Marvel’sIron Man movies? Someone asked original RhodeyTerrence Howard that very question during his appearance on Bravo’sWatch What Happens Live last night, and he responded with an answer that he said was “going to get me into a lot of trouble.”
“It turns out that the person that I helped become Iron Man, when it was time to […] re-up for the second one took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out,” Howard said. “We did a three-picture deal. So that means, you did the deal ahead of time. It was going to be a certain amount for the first one, a certain amount for the second, certain amount for the third.
STORY: Marvel’s Kevin Feige Avoids ‘Iron Man’ Drama in Twitter Chat
He continued, “They came to me [for] the second and said, ‘We will pay you one-eighth of what we contractually had for you, because we think the second one will be successful with or without you.’ And I called my friend that I helped get the first job, and he didn’t call me back for three months.”
This isn’t the first time Howard has complained about his dismissal from the franchise; inan interview earlier this year, he described his replacement inIron Man 2 as “killing my career.”
Amid groans from the audience, Howard was asked how his relationship was withRobert Downey Jr. now. “Oh, I love him,” Howard replied deadpan. “God’s gonna bless him.” That’s what happens when you hang out with Thor, after all.
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