Robert Downey Jr. Believes His Best Work in Marvel Films Went ‘Unnoticed’ Because of the Genre

Robert Downey Jr. thinks some of his “best work” went unnoticed because of the superhero genre.

The actor appeared on an episode of the podcast Literally! With Rob Lowe published on Thursday and told the host that he was feeling at the top of his game in 2019 after he concluded his 11-year run as Tony Stark in Iron Man for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, he wasn’t sure if audiences really appreciated the quality of work he was bringing to the MCU films at the time.

“I felt so exposed after being in the cocoon of Marvel, where I think I did some of the best work I will ever do, but it went a little bit unnoticed because of the genre,” said the 58-year-old, per Deadline. 

Downey Jr. hung up his Iron Man suit for good in 2019 with Avengers: Endgame. The first film in his post-MCU career was 2020’s Dolittle, an adaption of Hugh Lofting’s children’s books about a doctor’s ability to speak to animals, did not fare well with the critics with Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson calling it an “unfunny misfire.”