You’d be mistaken for thinking the production process on Iron Man, the movie which birthed the most profitable movie franchise in cinematic history, was meticulously planned. But, according to Jeff Bridges, it was pure chaos. Bridges played Obadiah Stane, a.k.a. Iron Monger, a long-time colleague of Tony Stark at Stark industries’ weapons division. The movie is still considered among the best in the MCU, and has produced some truly memorable lines and scenes. But, going off Bridges’ recounting of the production, it might as well have been an improv session.
Bridges spoke to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, and reflected on his time working on Iron Man. The actor remembered several times when executives from Marvel Studios would call director Jon Favreau, giving notes and demanding changes, and the stressful fixes that followed. Bridges said:
“They were so lucky to have Jon Favreau as our director, and [Robert] Downey [Jr.], he was so terrific to work with. We had a two week rehearsal, and we really re-worked the script, and honed it before we were gonna go. The day before, the Marvel folks said, ‘Oh, no, no. This can’t be the way it is.’ And we had to write the scenes that we were doing that day, that morning. We’d go into one of our trailers and call writer friends and say, ‘Here’s what happens… He goes here. You got any ideas?'”
Jeff Bridges Was “Frustrated” By Iron Man’s Production
It’s hard to imagine that the chaos of Iron Man would lead to one of the most popular and secretive franchises in history. Nowadays, Marvel Studios have planned out their upcoming slate of movies years in advance. While Robert Downey Jr. went on to star in more, better planned MCU films, Bridges only appeared in Iron Man. For the veteran actor, the production process was extremely frustrating, and counterproductive to his own acting method.
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“I remember being so frustrated as an actor,” Bridges admitted. However, his thought process was completely flipped by a thought that came to him during shooting. Jeff Bridges said:
“As an actor, I like being prepared [and] know my lines. I finally made this little adjustment that made all the difference. You’re talking about anxiety, I said, ‘Jeff, relax. You’re making a $200 million student film with these great guys. Have fun and just relax.'”
Obadiah Stane, the personification of greed, was a terrifying villain in the early MCU. After having Tony Stark kidnapped, Stane attempts to recreate Stark’s technology following his escape. The story beat came with one of the most memorable lines in the entire MCU, “Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave… with a box of scraps.” During the conversation, Bridges recalled delivering the line, and the various failed takes that never made the final cut.
“As actors we do a painting of a thing, and we give it to the editors and directors and they cut your painting up and make a collage out of it, and put it in different orders… It’s like when you’re taking pictures, you bracket your exposures, right? I tried to do that, so there’s maybe scenes where I didn’t quite blow up, or where I blew up more. So in the editing room they have a choice.”
Iron Man
is streaming on Disney+.