Grievances, he's got a few. Just the way it worked out, with him coming off the success of Crash and Hustle & Flow and a Denzel-like career waiting in the wings, he was the first hire and highest-paid actor on Iron Man, $3.5 million, with an additional $5 million waiting if a sequel got made. At this point, he'd heard the producers weren't interested in Robert Downey Jr., because of his past drug problems. But Howard says he told them he'd take a $1 million pay cut if they auditioned Downey and hired him. (Marvel Studios disputes Howard's version of Downey's hiring and the alleged salary cut, saying Howard played no part in getting Downey the job.) "Robert was so thankful and dadadadada," says Howard. Come time to make Iron Man 2, however, the producers went to Howard's agent, told him they were cutting Howard's part down and wanted a salary reduction. As Howard recalls it, his agent said "fuck you" and slammed down the phone. By the next day, Don Cheadle had been hired as his replacement.
"And so," he says, "I called Robby and was like, 'Look, man . . .' Leaving messages with his assistants, called him at least 17 times that day and 21 the next and finally left a message saying, 'Look, man, I need the help that I gave you.' Never heard from him. And guess who got the millions I was supposed to get? He got the whole franchise, so I've actually given him $100 million, which ends up being a $100 million loss for me from me trying to look after somebody, but, you know, to this day I would do the same thing. It's just my nature."
