'I did a lot of strength training'

Robert Downey Jr in an exclusive still from Iron ManQ: What does playing ���Iron Man��� mean to you?
RD: The chance to play Tony Stark and slip into the red and gold armour was a childhood dream come true. I���m an American. I love Marvel Comics and grew up reading Iron Man and Spider-Man. I have always been drawn to Iron Man because he had amazing ingenuity and intelligence.Superheroes are great, but superheroes who manufacture weapons and then build a suit of armour that they wear and can fly around in makes for the ultimate ���nerdgasm��� (laughs)
Q: What is Iron Man like according to you?
RD: Iron Man is someone who���s conflicted for the right reasons, and who doesn���t recognize his potential until he starts to live in accordance with a moral code.
Q: How did you feel when you first put on the Iron Man armour?
RD: I���d been training all these years and thought I was pretty tough, but the first time I put on the Mark 1 suit, I almost had a personality meltdown (laughs). I���m not claustrophobic, but after moving around in it for a couple of hours your spirit is kind of broken and you���re like, ���ok, time to bring in the stunt team.
Q: How did you physically train yourself for this role?
RD: About a year ago I decided that I really want to put on some size, which isn���t easy when you���re approaching 40. I felt that if I was ever going to do a movie like ���Iron Man,��� I had to do it quickly before it became embarrassing being the guy in tights with the flabby body. The first thing I did was tons of strength training, because I���m not a kid anymore and you must first get your tendons, bones, and subcutaneous muscles strong enough to deal with the weight you���re going to be lifting. It was really about survival for me, and all the hard work in preproduction wound up giving me the strength to do the movie.
Q: Tell us about one of your interesting sequences from the film?
RD: The scene where my (Tony Stark���s) convoy is attacked by a group of insurgents following my company���s demonstration of its newest weapon, the Jericho missile. In the convoy attack sequence I had to run through a flurry of explosions in order to escape from my would-be captors, which was orchestrated by stunt coordinator Tommy Harper and special effects coordinator Dan Sudek. It was shot on ���Movie Road,��� a historical place where a lot of famous Westerns and other films have been shot. We blew up six or seven Hummers and completely destroyed them, but the pivotal part of the sequence is when I get out of the car and run for cover as multiple explosions and landmines are going off a few feet away from me.
Which was the most difficult scene to shoot?
RD: A scene where I had to walk through a desert just before am rescued by Rhodey my colleague. We were shooting at Olancha Sand Dunes, an extension of a dry lake bed between two mountain ranges. We had to endure two days of 40 to 60 ��� mile an hour winds that almost shut the production. Despite the miserable conditions, I was grateful for the opportunity I had been given. I will never forget laying there buried half- alive in the middle of an intense sandstorm. I could barely see out of the Iron Man helmet. But am not complaining I felt it was great moment of gratitude towards the elements and what a privilege it was to be playing Tony Stark with the calibre of people I was working with. I just said to myself, ���Wow man, what a cool deal, what an amazing suit, what a great crew, what a blast!������
Q: How did you feel wearing the red and gold Mark III Iron Man armour?
RD: The first half hour of being in the Iron Man suit is like being in the coolest Halloween costume ever (smiles). You���re putting the suit on and you catch a glimpse in the mirror and you go, ���That���s right, Grandma would be proud.
Q: Was it difficult to shoot the flying scenes in the Iron Man suit?
RD: I had a few hours training up on the rig for the flying sequence and the learning curve was pretty steep. I do a lot of martial arts training so that really helped me to control my body in the reductive kind of way that was required. The hardest part was remembering that you have propulsion on the bottom of your feet and in the palms of your hands. So every time you move in a certain direction, you have to limit that movement with your hands and feet in order to generate the kind of propulsion that stabilizes Tony as he flies around.
Q: What you think of Jon Favreau as the director of the film?
RD: Favreau���s unflappable presence in the face of adversity was truly impressive. Jon brought everything to this film and is the primal force behind ���Iron Man���. He���s easily half the character of Iron Man and he really infused himself into every department. I don���t want to say he���s a gentle giant because he���s very formidable, but he is the most composed person in a position of unimaginable stress that I���ve ever seen. He���s so gracious, and so evolved.
Q: Finally tell us about your over all experience working on the film?
RD: I���m hopelessly in love with this film and so proud of everybody who was part of this experience. The film has it all ��� a great story, great cast and probably one of the best crews I���ve ever worked with.