Terrence Howard opened up about what really happened during his abrupt exit from the Iron Man franchise after the first film He was cast as the second lead in the film, even before the main role of Tony Stark was cast. At the time, Marvel Studios was eyeing Clive Owen to play the lead role of Tony Stark. Robert Downey Jr. desperately wanted the role but was denied the opportunity to audition. And Howard had to allegedly sacrifice $1 million from his salary to make Downey Jr.’s audition possible.
When Howard faced issues with the studio during the production of the second film, he called the Oppenheimer actor for help. However, Downey Jr. allegedly didn’t pick up the phone, which hurt Howard a lot as a friend and a co-star who helped him.
Terrence Howard Felt Betrayed By Robert Downey Jr. After Helping Him Get Iron Man Audition
Terrence Howard recently appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and made some explosive revelations about his personal life and career. He mentioned to Joe Rogan that he felt betrayed by Robert Downey Jr. when he approached him for help after the Marvel deal fell off. He revealed that he had helped the Sherlock Holmes actor secure the audition for Iron Man.
He shared that the studio was not allowing Downey Jr. to audition for the role. Susan Downey was a producer on The Brave One, a film in which Howard was the lead. By that time, Howard had already been cast as the second lead in Iron Man as War Machine. Susan Downey approached him and shared the issues that Downey Jr. was facing with Marvel Studios in auditioning for the role.
Howard made a call to producer Avi Arad to get to the bottom of the things. When Arad revealed that they couldn’t bond him due to his legal issues, Howard offered to sacrifice $1 million from his hefty 4-and-a-half million paycheck for the film and talked Arad into using that for the bond for Downey Jr. Howard shared with The Joe Rogan Experience:
I love Robert. I love what he does. I loved him in Weird Science. Well if Robert wants to come in… So I called Avi Arad immediately. He was the producer on it and I’m like, ‘Avi, I hear Robert wants to come in but you guys don’t even let him audition.’ He’s like, ‘No we can’t bond him.’ I’m like, ‘Instead of the 4 and a half you want to give me why don’t you take a million dollars for the bond for him and let him audition.’ So he gets the part. Robert is like, ‘I love you. Thank you so much.’
Howard shared that when Marvel Studios decided to go back on their deal with him during the second film and recast his role, he tried calling Downey Jr. to return the favor. However, he revealed that he didn’t get an answer from the actor at all and that they didn’t even speak for the next three years until they bumped into each other during an event. Howard shared that he was a little broken up about Downey Jr.’s alleged betrayal. He shared:
When this other thing happened, I’m calling Robert and he’s doing Sherlock Homes. I called him 27 times and I leave a message. I’m calling his assistant. I’m like, ‘I need the help I gave you.’ I didn’t hear from him until 3 years later when I bumped into him at Brian Grazer’s wedding. But at that time I’d had Empire or whatever and I came back he was like, ‘Oh but everything worked out for you.’ That broke me a little bit.
Howard’s accusations are damaging to the Dolittle actor who has built a reputation as one of the actors in Hollywood with a heart. Fans await to see how the Oscar-winning actor responds to the remarks.
Terrence Howard Reveals The Real Reason Why He Was Replaced In Iron Man
Terrence Howard shared that when he signed up for Iron Man, he had a three-picture deal with the studio. According to the deal, the first Iron Man movie would earn him four and a half million, the second one 8 million, and the third one 12 million. After the first film, Howard faced some challenges in his personal life, particularly with his mother passing. At this time, the studio approached his agent to renegotiate the eight million to a mere $1 million.
He revealed that his agent got emotional and hung up the phone. Howard shared that they wasted no time in approaching Don Cheadle for the role. However, he was hurt that the studio would later sell a story about how he was difficult on set. Howard shared with Joe Rogan:
They said, ‘We want Terrence but we want him to come back for a million dollars, instead of the 8 million that we had agreed to. My agent had an emotional reaction to a business decision and he said, ‘F-you’, and hung up the phone. Immediately, they go to Don Cheadle. But instead of just doing that they had to spend, ‘Oh, he was terrible on set,’ and all of these things and went through all this stuff.
After his exit from the MCU, Terrence Howard would later make a major comeback with the series Empire. His performance in Iron Man is now available for streaming on Disney+.
