8 Little Known Tics That Made Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man Perfect

2. He Hates Being Handed Things

Again, this is a smaller tic which nevertheless says a lot about Tony Stark. Though it's important to remember that Stan Lee based Stark off infamously eccentric inventor and playboy Howard Hughes, Downey has brought his own brand of eccentricity to the part to make it very much his own. One of these quirks is Tony's avoidance of physical contact where possible: he flatly avoids being handed objects by most people and even draws attention to this on several occasions. This just feels like one of those affectations that probably wouldn't be written into the script, but rather something Downey himself came up with. What it's so effective at doing is keeping Stark at an arm's length from both other characters and the audience: it ensures that no matter how much we might love him, he's still prickly, standoffish and weird. Because let's face it, Tony wouldn't accept a handshake from any of us either.