From Uninsurable to $75 Million Per Film

In 2008, Robert Downey Jr. was a risk no studio wanted to take. He had spent time in prison, been fired from Ally McBeal, and was considered uninsurable by every major completion bond company in Hollywood. His career was effectively over.

Marvel Studios took a chance on him for Iron Man — but at a price that reflected the risk. His salary was approximately $500,000, a fraction of what a leading man in a major blockbuster would normally command.

The problem was insurance. No company would write a completion bond for a film starring Downey. Without that bond, production couldn't proceed. Mel Gibson — who had worked with Downey on Air America — personally guaranteed the bond out of his own pocket. Without that intervention, Iron Man would never have been made.

The film grossed $585 million. Downey became Tony Stark. And over the next decade, his salary escalated at a rate unprecedented in Hollywood history: $10 million for Iron Man 2, $50 million for The Avengers (2012), and by Avengers: Endgame in 2019, an estimated $75 million for a single film.

From $500,000 to $75 million. A 15,000% raise. For a man no one would insure.