‘Iron Man 3’: Don Cheadle Spills Real Story On Gwyneth Paltrow’s Armor

Cheadle plays Colonel James Rhodes, who wears the Iron Patriot armor. He said he was disappointed that the suit hadn’t gotten more comfortable since he donned it in “Iron Man 2.” “I mean, that’s a chief complaint I logged,” Cheadle explained. “It’s like, ‘You guys didn’t get this more refined? It still weighs this much? I still can’t articulate the arms to touch my face when I wear it.’ But we know what it is when we sign up to do it, and it was great to come back and recreate the character again.”

Cheadle, of course, took over the role after Terence Howard played the character in the original film. He observed that after the experience of “Iron Man 2,” he and Downey established a comfortable camaraderie which allowed their onscreen relationship to flourish.

“[This was] more of an opportunity for us to bust each other’s chops, and to be a conscience for Tony — that’s what Rhodey provides,” Cheadle said. “And Tony for Rhodey provides someone who’s trying to get him out of his shell. And then to be able to go into that third-act set piece with these guys back-to-back and doing what they have to do was a lot of fun.”

The “third-act set piece” Cheadle refers to is an epic sequence in which he and Downey, out of their armor, attempt to storm their adversary’s stronghold. And shooting those scenes gave him a filmmaking experience he’d never had before.

“To be a part of an action sequence and to actually be a part of the physical action was something that I was excited about,” Cheadle said. “To do that cable work and stunt work and getting to work with that team in that close proximity was something that is sort of for me wish fulfillment to do those things. So I was really glad when I read the script that I saw that was going to be happening.”