Tom Cruise claims he was "not close" to taking Robert Downey Jr.'s place as Iron Man

Even if Tom Cruise is unbreakable as an action star, he isn't Iron Man.

In a recent interview with the podcast Phase Zero, the actor, 60, admitted that despite speculations over the years that he might portray the renowned Marvel hero, he wasn't even close to landing the part.

"Not close," he confirmed. "I love Robert Downey Jr., and I can't imagine anyone else doing that role, and I think it's perfect for him."

The declaration comes over a year after screenwriter Michael Waldron for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness told Rolling Stone that Cruise was approached to play a reimagined Tony Stark in the 2022 movie.

Yet even before that, rumours circulated among fans claiming that Cruise was a contender for the first Iron Man role, which was played by Downey Jr., 57, in 2008 to launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"Yeah, that was totally made up. I mean, there's no cut footage of Tom Cruise," Waldron said of the online rumors. "But I love Tom Cruise, and I said to [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] at one point, I was like, 'Could we get Tom Cruise's Iron Man?' I remember reading about that in Ain't It Cool News back in the day, that Tom Cruise was going to be Iron Man."

He added, "As it was being talked about online, I was like, 'Yeah, that'd be cool!' "

Waldron made it clear that he didn't believe the actor was contacted "because of availability."

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