Robert Downey Jr. Bloopers That Make Us Love Him Even More

Debonair, witty, and charming movie star Robert Downey Jr. has been kicking around Hollywood for an incredibly long time, and there are several distinct eras in his lengthy career. In the '80s, he was a tertiary member of the Brat Pack, co-starring in films like Weird Science and The Pick-Up Artist, before segueing into a period as a serious actor in the mid-'90s with an Academy Award-nominated performance in Chaplin. He survived a devastating drug addiction that decade, only to emerge as one of the biggest stars in the world thanks to his role as Iron Man/Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Everybody seems to love and root for for Downey Jr., but he's just an actor...meaning he screws up on set, sometimes delightfully, just like every other actor in Hollywood. Here are some times when the lovable Downey was even more engaging because of some on-set mishaps.

Kissing scenes must be some of the hardest for film directors to nail down. For actors to pretend to be other people who love each other with words, moony faces, and misty eyes is one thing, but needing two performers to take it to the next level and physically show their characters' affection by mashing their faces is awkward, weird, wet, and silly. It can even feel odd for esteemed veteran, top-notch professionals who've worked with each other before — like Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr. 

In this scene, Tony Stark and Pepper Potts are about to separate for a lengthy period of time, and the two characters try to kiss...only Paltrow can't do it without laughing, which in turn, makes Downey lose his composure. He makes light of his embarrassment by specifically calling out their goof for what it is, a blooper, and wondering if the film will have a gag reel for such moments, like the classic, definitive one from Smokey and the Bandit II.

Being a leader affords a person a lot of benefits, such as power and glory, but there are also some drawbacks, like an unrelenting sense of responsibility. Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, is the leader of the Avengers, and as the anchor of the MCU, Robert Downey Jr. is by default the leader of the troupe of actors that portrays the Avengers onscreen. In this scene, Downey-as-Stark attempts to explain the gravity of a situation to Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in no uncertain terms. Thor, or maybe Hemsworth, doesn't give his superior his due — or rather, he doesn't give his superior much of anything at all. Having seemingly forgotten his line, he reacts to Downey's speech with some non-committal head nods, which leaves Downey in an acting lurch. He reacts hilariously, quipping to Hemsworth in old-fashioned sounding slang that he's going to "leave me here with an omelet on my face."

Movie sets are highly pressurized places. Hundreds of crew members are running around and spending tens of millions of dollars to make a movie that looks, feels, and sounds perfect, and so much of that potential for success rests in the hands of the actors who can spend 12 hours a day or more doing take after take of the same scene. That's a recipe for exhaustion, which itself is a recipe for silliness. Actors can look at one another the wrong way and erupt into a fit of giggles, requiring them to "take it from the top" and try again. But the most experienced actors, like Robert Downey Jr., don't even need another actor to trigger a laughing jag. In this scene, Downey is supposed to show off Tony Stark's confidence and swagger, delivering the line "we always cover the ass," and then stick his arm out all dramatically. It's just all too silly for Downey to take. Cue laughter.

Downey doesn't just make superhero movies. He'll occasionally get a break from the Iron Man suit and floating on wires in front of a green screen and get to do a traditional comedy. In 2010, he teamed up with Zach Galifianakis for Due Date, an old-fashioned buddy comedy/road movie. One would expect Downey to crack up in the presence of Galifianakis, one of the funniest people on the planet, but he doesn't need even need the Hangover star to ruin a good take. There are other ways beyond a facade of chuckles to react to a scene that's not going quite right, or when one isn't quite feeling the vibe as an actor. In this scene, Downey is riding in the back of a rickety vehicle during a bumpy drive. He's jostled so much and for so long, he can't stay in character — he can only ride along with the car and go where the moment takes him, getting into a groove. Literally — he does a little dance routine. Because it's Robert Downey Jr., he somehow makes it look pretty cool.

The third Captain America movie is an Avengers film in everything but name. However, its most notable contribution to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is its introduction of Spider-Man, portrayed by relative newcomer Tom Holland. Iron Man also earns a lot of screen time, giving fans another opportunity to bask in the glory of Robert Downey Jr. There are a lot of similarities between the character of Tony Stark and the public persona of the man who portrays him onscreen. Stark is an eccentric bon vivant, confident, and boastful of his celebrity status. You could say the same thing about Downey, although he carries himself with just a bit more self-deprecating humor and self-awareness. Perhaps ironically, or perhaps not, in this clip, he reminds co-star Holland who the real star of the movie is. With Holland just offscreen and apparently doing something he's not "supposed" to be doing, Downey quips, "Stop f***ing with me, Tom — the camera is on me now."

The Avengers aren't all about saving the world and universe from agents of evil and selfishness, be it Thanos in Infinity War or Ultron in Age of Ultron. No, they also like to plan, strategize, and pump themselves up for the task at hand. That goes for the cast of the Avengers, too. In this outtake from Age of Ultron, Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) have a little bonding moment over their shared...love of dancing, of course. Downey and Hemsworth are in sync with their little bit of improv about the wonders of moving to the music, but Evans can't quite follow what's going on. Downey, or Stark, asks ol' Cap if he's "gonna bring it," but then he, along with Hemsworth, brings it himself, with a large, jazz-hands inspired, pelvic-thrusty dance move, right out of the blue. Avengers, assemble...your dance crew!

Just before Robert Downey Jr. would be forever immortalized in blockbuster superhero movie history with his role as Iron Man, he had to slowly forge his big comeback after years away from the A-list due to personal struggles. One of the movies that proved Downey still had the goods was this 2005 crime comedy co-starring Val Kilmer and written/directed by Lethal Weapon screenwriter Shane Black. Downey is thoroughly entertaining as a burglar-turned-accidental actor, a guy who also wants to win the heart of Harmony, a woman he's loved since they were both kids. In one scene, he has to wax nostalgic about old times, only to be comically interrupted by her literally slamming the door in his face. Actress Michelle Monaghan messes with his flow a bit by not closing the door when she's supposed to, leaving Downey to riff for an uncomfortably long time, so much so that he begs her to slam the door right on his famous mug.

Once again, Robert Downey Jr. shows that he doesn't need any other actors to cause him to laugh, lose his concentration, or break character in some other way and thus spoil a shot. He only has himself to blame in this MCU outtake...well, himself and an offscreen individual reading him another actor's lines. Paul Bettany provided the voice of JARVIS in multiple Marvel movies, but he apparently dubbed in his contributions after the fact. While filming this scene between "JARVIS" and Tony Stark, Downey reports emphatically to the entity, "I'm actually out," while walking at a brisk clip to prove that his mind has been made up about his exit. JARVIS' response is read (almost inaudibly) off-camera, but by the time it's done, Downey is already off the set and out of the shot. Knowing the scene is ruined and must be redone, Downey makes light of it, fake-angrily joking, "JARVIS, don't ever speak to me once I'm actually off-camera."

There are a lot of names, proprietary terms, and jargon for actors in comic book-based movies to remember, and it's difficult to get it right and please both the director and fans of the original material. It's even hard, on occasion, for Robert Downey Jr., who probably knows the ins and outs of Marvel better than any other actor on the planet, having played Iron Man and Tony Stark so many times. Toward the end of Iron Man 3, Stark must call upon a slew of different super-powered suits of armor. There are a lot of them, and while their inventor and operator can certainly rattle them off, Downey can't. In this outtake, he tries to enlist the Heartbreaker armor to help out the...other armor whose name he can't remember right now. Downey can only react with a funny face to the camera as if to ask for some help. (It turns out he forgot about "Red Snapper.")

Eventually, Robert Downey Jr. did fall prey to the impossible-to-resist hilarity of co-star Zach Galifianakis on the set of their comedy Due Date. In this scene, Galifianakis's character's hairy and protruding belly is shoved right into the face of Downey's annoyed, straight-laced character. But this outtake isn't quite so straightforward. First of all, it isn't Downey who cracks up when Galifianakis sticks his bare stomach all up in his grill. Rather, it's Galifianakis who immediately breaks down into laughter while Downey remains in character, seemingly sighing indignantly. But then Galifianakis explains to the crew why he started laughing and ruined the take: it's because an exhale looks an awful lot like an inhale, which is what Downey had done. "He smelled my stomach," Galifianakis can barely get out, which prompts a fiendish grin, and then silly laughter, on Downey's part.