Mark Wahlberg has emerged as Hollywood’s leading man in the comic, action, and drama genres. Kicking off his acting journey in the 1990s, he emerged as a talented personality in the 2000s by working in big-budget films that gave him immense recognition like The Perfect Storm and The Departed.
Mark WahlbergActor, Mark Wahlberg
While the actor has explored the action genre quite deeply, there was a time when he wanted to go beyond and delve into the superhero genre. For that, he wanted to steal Robert Downey Jr.’s iconic role of Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

"I've never been asked": Mark Wahlberg Wanted to Steal Iconic Role from Robert Downey Jr in $29 Billion Franchise

Mark Wahlberg Wanted to Play Iron Man Role in MCU!
Robert Downey Jr. as Iron ManRobert Downey Jr. as Iron Man
Back in 2013, The now 51-year-old actor, Mark Wahlberg while promoting his film, 2 Guns opened up about wanting to play Iron Man which was portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.

Sharing his desire to play the role of the famed Tony Stark’s superhero version, he stated,
“I would like to take over the ‘Iron Man’ franchise for Robert Downey.”
He added,
“[But] it’s one of those things where I kind of like playing real people, [so] I’ve never been asked.”
While he was unable to portray the classic superhero in the MCU franchise, he was offered to play the role of Robin in Batman Forever but he eventually dodged the bullet. Had he replaced Downey Jr. in the MCU, he would have had a significant career jump as the latter got global recognition and a massive paycheck from this very role.

Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man Role in Avengers: Endgame Was for $75 million
Robert Downey Jr. in Avengers: Endgame (2019).Robert Downey Jr. in Avengers: Endgame (2019).
The 58-year-old actor has been the face of the Iron Man film series since 2008. While he was paid $2.5 million when Marvel booked him for the role, his salary substantially increased with time, with the actor enlisting himself among the highest-paid actors in the world.

Being not only the lead of Iron Man, he also became the face of MCU with the franchise reportedly giving $50 million as his paycheck for the Avengers film.

For his magnificent presence in the 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, which concluded the Thanos era in MCU, he was paid $75 million. This film also marked the end of fan-favorite Tony Stark aka Iron Man era in the franchise, as he snapped his fingers sacrificing himself to save the world.

The film was an epic success in the franchise, which grossed $2.798 billion worldwide, breaking numerous box office charts.