Terrence Howard, the actor who played James “Rhodey” Rhodes in 2008’s Iron Man recently revealed that his co-star and the film’s lead Robert Downey Jr. owed him 100 million dollars. The reports claimed that Howard was the highest-paid actor in the first film, who received anywhere between $3.5-$4.5 million. Marvel Studios also promised the actor that he will be paid an additional $5 million, if Iron Man 2 happened.
Howard has always been vocal about his removal as War Machine in the MCU. The major reason of the fall-out between the actor and the studio was the salary dispute. Fans loved Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of genius, playboy, philanthropist superhero and welcomed him with an open arms. The studio announced the second Iron Man film, but Terrence Howard’s role was reportedly cut short.
Marvel Studios wanted to cut the significant amount of Howard’s pay to give more money to the lead actor, Robert Downey Jr. Howard reportedly signed three movies with Marvel Studios, where the studio would pay him around $8 million. But, the studio was ready to give only $1 million, which was significantly much less than the first film. Howard also mentioned that the studio thought that the sequel would be successful even without his involvement.
Terrence Howard claimed that Robert Downey Jr ignored his calls for three months.
A report claims that the 52-year-old actor took $1 million pay-cut from his salary in the first Iron Man movie. He agreed, so that Robert could be hired in the first film. While appearing in an interview with the Rolling Stone in 2015, he reportedly called Robert before the Iron Man 2 so that he could return the favor. He mentioned that he called Downey at least 17 times day, left messages with his assistant, but he never heard from him.
Now, he claims that the $1 million pay-cut he took has given Robert $100 million. He mentioned that the 56-year-old got millions, which Howard supposedly should get. Howard further mentioned that he suffered a $100 million loss for looking after somebody. Both actors hold grudges against each other until 2017, when they let the negative feelings get away.
Downey Jr later reported that he had nothing to do with the studio’s decision to reduce Howard’s salary. Howard’s role ultimately went to Don Cheadle, who recently appeared in Disney+ original series, The Falcon and Winter Soldier. Cheadle would next appear in the upcoming Disney+ original series, Armor Wars.
