Avengers: Endgame marked the end of Robert Downey Jr.’s journey in the MCU, and the masses are beginning to wonder whether his turn as the charismatic center of a blossoming cinematic universe deserves recognition, perhaps in the form of an Academy Award. It’s entirely possible, and perhaps a means for the Oscars to acknowledge the franchise in a way that doesn’t awkwardly wedge Endgame into the year’s Best Picture crop. Downey Jr., however, isn’t angling for it, telling Howard Stern in a recent interview that there was discussion about mounting a campaign on his behalf. “And I said, ‘Let’s not.’”
After all, he already won over perhaps the most esteemed Marvel critic on the planet: Stan Lee. In the same interview, he reflected on one of the last times he saw the mind behind Marvel. The pair were filming Lee’s Civil War cameo, in which he played a UPS deliveryman looking for “Tony Stank.” Per Downey Jr., Lee nailed the first take, but in subsequent takes began calling him “Robert,” leading Downey, Jr. to marvel at how even the Iron Man creator was conflating him with Tony Stark.
“This is so meta,” he says. “Stan Lee is forgetting who I am in this moment.”
Watch that segment from the interview below.