The actor starred alongside the future Doctor Doom in a movie, but not in Marvel. Robert Downey Jr. never crossed paths with him in the MCU.
We’re talking about Vincent D’Onofrio. In the Marvel Universe, he plays the villain Kingpin — in the series “Daredevil”, “Hawkeye,” and “Echo”. Robert Downey Jr. only appeared in feature films, so the actors existed in the MCU separately. Ukrainian viewers might best know D’Onofrio from the detective series “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”
“Iron Man” admired the actor during their collaboration on the legal drama “The Judge” in 2014. Vincent D’Onofrio played the role of Downey Jr.’s elder brother, and the legendary Robert Duvall also starred in the movie. At the time, “The Judge” turned out to be a highly controversial family drama between father and son in a courtroom setting. Although the film was long forgotten, it gained success when Netflix released it earlier this year.
Robert Downey Jr. says he would like to work with D’Onofrio if an opportunity arises. Interestingly, Downey Jr.’s role inspired Vincent to play Wilson Fisk, known as Kingpin, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Downey Jr.’s return as Doctor Doom, there’s hope that the actors will finally meet in a joint film.
In an interview with Deadline, Robert Downey Jr. mentioned that D’Onofrio was literally like an older brother during the filming of the movie. The Marvel star noted that D’Onofrio’s real-life personality and his character were completely different, and also praised his skilled performance in “Daredevil”:
“I’ll officially tell you that I would rather never again make a movie without Vincent D’Onofrio. He’s literally like an older brother I never had, and he’s incredibly talented. He’s nothing like his character, Glenn. There’s not a single Vincent D’Onofrio moment in that character. That’s his [strong] suit, he’s skillful. Honestly, in almost every project, I think Vince could make a difference.”
Next time, Vincent D’Onofrio will appear as Kingpin in the Disney+ series “Daredevil: Born Again” which is set to release on March 4, 2025.
Sources: Deadline, FandomWire
Spelling error report
The following text will be sent to our editors: