One of the best things to have come out of the Iron Man franchise is the bromance between Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes aka War Machine. However, fans would not have gotten to see this pairing if Terrence Howard did not retire from the role.
Terrence Howard portrayed James Rhodes in Iron Man (2008), the film that began the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While there are many speculations about why the actor left the franchise, a dispute over his salary seems to be the most valid reason. As the makers tried to pay him much less than what he signed up for, Terrence Howard turned to Robert Downey Jr. for help to no avail.
Terrence Howard Blames Robert Downey Jr. For Not Supporting Him
According to some sources, the makers of the Iron Man franchise had a conversation with Terrence Howard about reducing his role and his pay in the upcoming sequel. The sources add that the pay cut was not small and ranged between 50-80% of what he initially signed up for. Due to this, Howard decided to part ways with the franchise, especially after Robert Downey Jr. did not stand up for him.
Talking to Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, Howard gave his side of the story stating that he turned to Downey for help and felt betrayed when he didn’t support the very person who helped him get the job. Howard also claimed that his share of the money went to Downey instead.
“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.”
Elaborating on the initial terms of the deal and what went wrong, Howard continued,
“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. 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.”
When asked by Cohen if there is any animosity between him and Downey, Howard sarcastically replied, “Oh, I love him. God’s gonna bless him.”
Howard did actually help Downey get the life-changing as the latter himself thanked the former, in 2021, for being an integral part of his casting. Then why did Downey not help the Empire actor in his time of need?
Terrence Howard Called Robert Downey Jr. 17 Times
Talking to Rolling Stone in 2015, Howard opened up a bit more about how Downey did not return the favor when the ball was in his court. He stated that he called his co-star 17 times in a single day and 21 the next and left messages to his assistants. However, Downey was nowhere to be found.
“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.”
Howard also talked about how the millions that were supposed to go to him ended up in Downey’s pocket. Despite the betrayal from the Due Date actor, Howard stated that he would do it all over again because that is simply who he is.
“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, you know, to this day I would just do the same thing. It’s just my nature.”
In 2008, Downey told MTV that he had nothing to do with the decision of removing Howard and bringing in Don Cheadle. He even added that he loves his ex-co-star very, very much.
You can stream Iron Man on Disney+.
Source: Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (via THR)
