Last May, The Hollywood Reporter claimed Robert Downey Jr. was bringing home a big $50 million check—or larger—for his role in "The Avengers" after all bonuses and compensations were accounted.
In the upcoming May issue of GQ, the "Iron Man 3" actor admitted he indeed did receive that big of a payday with a smile and a simple, "Yeah."
"Isn't that crazy?" said Downey Jr. "They're so pissed. I can't believe it. I'm what's known as 'a strategic cost.' "
It's not a surprise that "Iron Man" actor Robert Downey Jr. would take home a big paycheck.
"The Avengers" went on to become the highest-grossing movie of the year, earning more than $1 billion at theaters worldwide.
However, compared to Downey Jr., his "Avengers" costars earned nowhere near his salary.
Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, and Mark Ruffalo reportedly earned between $2-3 million with bonuses, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson were reported to earn $4-6 million.
Downey Jr. also hinted he may not be up for anymore "Iron Man" sequels. The injury he sustained on set which delayed production for the third film made him consider what else the 47-year-old actor wants to do with his career.
"It got me thinking about how big the message from your cosmic sponsor needs to be before you pick it up," said Downey Jr. "How many genre movies can I do? How many follow-ups to a successful follow-up are actually fun?"
Right now, he says he doesn't have a contract to do anything, whereas, for the past five years he's been signed.
However, he admitted it won't be easy to walk away.
"Here's the thing. At whatever point I'm done with this, I'm going to have a bit of a crisis, because I probably haven't even fully ingested how much I've enjoyed it, how much it's meant," said Downey Jr. "It so came out of kind of relative obscurity as this second-tier character from the Marvel universe, and I feel I was part of making it something more."
Read the full GQ article with Downey Jr. HERE.
"Iron Man 3" hits theaters May 3.
SEE ALSO: 15 awesome images from the next wave of Marvel films >
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