Robert Downey Jr. is singing Pedro Pascal‘s praises. Both actors are appearing in the next Phase of the MCU, with Pascal leading “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” as Reed Richards AKA Mr. Fantastic and Downey as Victor Von Doom AKA Doctor Doom for “Avengers: Doomsday.” Will they first square off in “First Steps”? Unclear. However, that didn’t stop Downey from pointing to how Pascal is an inspiration for Hollywood as a whole.
“Pascal’s slow trajectory to becoming a household name who is on a wildly hot streak kind of reaffirms my faith in our industry,” Downey told Vanity Fair. And it’s true: Pascal really is everywhere. In addition to starring in “The Fantastic Four,” the actor appears in “The Last of Us,” “Materialists,” “Eddington,” and “The Mandalorian.”
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And Pascal is also a newfound staple at Downey’s own home, too. Pascal teased to VF that he (and presumably, his fellow “Fantastic Four” co-stars Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn) has been part of the “‘Avengers’ cast ‘homework’ day,” hosted by Downey, as VF reported.
Pascal said, “I don’t know, I don’t know,” when asked if he too was an Avenger, but it’s evident that Downey at least is circling the wagons for the franchise given his return to the MCU. Downey was announced in 2024 as Doctor Doom after playing Iron Man for more than a decade.
Pascal told VF that he was nervous about joining the acclaimed MCU franchise alongside so many icons…and fan opinions. Yet Downey eased the way for Pascal.
“I’m more aware of disgruntlement around my casting than anything I’ve ever done. ‘He’s too old. He’s not right. He needs to shave,’” Pascal said, adding that Downey made him feel comfortable about his “Fantastic Four” role. “He’s just so immediately generous and inviting that you feel like you can be afraid, you can be hungry, you can be ambivalent.”
And Downey isn’t the only MCU member who adores Pascal: “The Fantastic Four” star Vanessa Kirby, who plays Pascal’s onscreen wife, said that Pascal has an “immense vulnerability” as an actor. “He doesn’t have much armor, so he shows himself to you straight away,” she said of his inspirational acting techniques, “and you trust that person because he’s revealing himself to you in this very brave way.”
Director Spike Jonze (who is unaffiliated with Marvel….as of now), helmed an Apple ad with Pascal and summarized the actor’s appeal: “I think that he’s what we want in masculinity.” And given Pascal’s meteoric rise to fame, that proves to be a fact.
