10 Times The MCU Completely Transformed Actors' Careers
1. Robert Downey Jr. - From Risk To Redeemed
As the header image says, no-one else could have taken the top spot.
The story of RDJ is a well told one, but briefly: Hugely talented actor goes off the rails, successfully conquers his demons, rebuilds his career and lands a once-in-a-lifetime role.
It's mind-boggling now to think that Disney saw Downey Jr. as a risky prospect - despite having been sober for several years before Iron Man, he had burned enough bridges during his substance abuse period to leave movie executives all over Hollywood cautious over casting him.
Fortunately, Disney were rewarded for their trust with the single biggest box office attraction in movie history, the movie-going public got the chance to see Downey Jr. pull off the single greatest character arc in cinema, and RDJ himself amassed a $300 million fortune off the back of his work in the MCU.
Although the recently released flop Dr. Doolittle may have sullied his reputation as a cinema's answer to King Midas, the fact remains that the Robert Downey Jr. now enjoys a vastly superior reputation to the man he was before the MCU, with a bank balance to match.
Robert Downey Jr. will forever be remembered as the face of the biggest franchise in the modern film industry, and as the man whose fortunes were most transformed by the MCU.