Sam Rockwell originally wanted to play Tony Stark. But after the role of the Marvel hero went to Robert Downey Jr., the actor had another idea: he could simply become the new villain in Iron Man 2.
In an interview with GQ on February 6, 2024, Sam Rockwell talked about the most iconic roles of his film career so far.
Besides The Green Mile, Argyle, and Moon, he also mentioned the Marvel movie Iron Man 2, in which he played an adversary of Tony Stark, and shared how he got the role.
Here you can see a German trailer for Iron Man 2:
“Write me a role as a villain”
How did Sam Rockwell get the role? He explained that he was in touch with Jon Favreau, the director of Iron Man, and was actually in talks for the role of Tony Stark.
However, that went to Robert Downey Jr. But since his partner Leslie Bibb also acted in Iron Man, he knew the people behind the film and dined with them before the opening night.
Later, Sam Rockwell used the connection he had with the project’s officials to finally appear in the Marvel film.
And then my friend Justin Theroux was supposed to write the script [for Iron Man 2] … and I went over to his house and asked, “What’s going on with this Iron Man 2?” He said, “I’m flying off to help Favreau write the script.”
And I said, “Great, let me be a part of it. I want to be in the movie. Write me a role as a villain.”
They talked to Mickey Rourke and decided to split the villain into two villains.
Sam Rockwell, Source: YouTube
You can read more about Iron Man 2 here at our colleagues from Filmstarts: A disgusting violent scene was filmed for “Iron Man 2” that ultimately did not make it into the movie
Who did Sam Rockwell play in Iron Man 2? In the end, Sam Rockwell did not get the role of Tony Stark but was allowed to play the slimy millionaire Justin Hammer. He is an arms dealer, businessman, and CEO of Hammer Industries, a competing company to Stark Industries.
Justin Hammer constantly tries to outdo Tony Stark, both in terms of technology and charisma – but continuously comes up short.
For instance, in court. There, Justin Hammer tries to make the hero look bad – in the end, however, it is he who gets humiliated on camera.
You can find more about Marvel here: How a simple technique helped make Marvel movies successful
