Downey Jr was a great leader, say Avengers: Infinity War co-stars

The man himself was not even in the round-table interview room at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

Or giving any media interviews for that matter outside of a press conference, when he was in town last week with his teammates for the Avengers: Infinity War promo tour.

But Robert Downey Jr was such an exemplary leading man on and off screen that his co-stars could not resist pulling him into the conversation anyway.

The 53-year-old US actor is certainly far from being a "douchebag", which is what Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) calls Tony Stark/Iron Man (Downey) in a clash-of-the-egos scene from the superhero movie.

Opening here today, the highly anticipated sequel marks 10 years of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) magic and will feature more than 20 main characters from across the Marvel worlds - and "a lot of surprise cameos" - coming together to battle Thanos, the "biggest, baddest MCU villain ever".

US director Joe Russo, 46, added: "Put two narcissists, one master of the mystic arts and one man of science together, and of course there is going to be fireworks."

In fact, the line in question - "I protect your reality, douchebag" - was not in the original script.

English actor Cumberbatch, 41, said it was a spontaneous addition.

He joked: "That was my contribution and it made it into the film. I was happy about it."

In real life, Cumberbatch had only praise for Downey, saying: "He was such a great leading man, so generous with things that his status brings him. He shares everything, it is just pure generosity."

Russo and Karen Gillan, the 30-year-old Scottish actress who plays Guardians Of The Galaxy villain Nebula, agreed that Downey has none of Stark's notorious ego.

Russo said: "I will be honest, as people working together for the better part of a decade, we are like a family, and there really aren't a lot of egos.

"Robert is an incredible leader, he is a warm and inclusive human being and so great at keeping spirits up on set."

Gillan added: "Robert was leading the charge so well, making us socialise at lunch time instead of going back to our trailers, and it really worked."

When asked if anyone was pegged to succeed Downey should he step down from the role he has been playing for the past 10 years, Avengers: Infinity War executive producer Trinh Tran said: "I don't think the audience can accept that (a different actor). Robert is Tony Stark the way he is."

SUITABLE

Russo added: "There is no one suitable to take over... Anything of value has to come to an end, he can't play the character forever. There are other things he wants to do with his career but he loves playing the character, we know that and we love working with him, so we will see where it goes from here."

And thanks to Downey's talent for getting cast members to open up, the easy camaraderie between Cumberbatch and Gillan - who had never worked together before - was evident when they shared embarrassing on-set moments.

Cumberbatch once fell off the set. And Gillan related this: "Everyone was supposed to war cry, so I thought, 'I am going to give them one hell of a war cry, here we go.' But then no one else war cried. Most embarrassing thing ever."

The pair also commiserated over their long hours in the make-up chair.

Cumberbatch spent an hour-and-a-half on it (he uses the time to meditate), while Gillan usually takes two-and-a-half hours as she needs a whole new face stuck onto hers as the bald, blue-skinned alien.

Gillan also jokingly complained that eating was impossible.

She said: "I could not even open my mouth properly so I had to take little squirrel bites of food."

She added: "I talk a lot to the (make-up) guys. I bet they are like, 'Shut up, it is 3am.'"

And when asked which other MCU character they would like to play, Cumberbatch joked: "Groot. I would phone in and say 'I am Groot' and that is it. I don't even have to leave the office."

Gillan said: "I don't know who to choose so I am going to say Iron Man. I change my answer every time."

Well, a female Iron Man could very well solve the succession issue. Marvel, are you listening?