Robert Downey Jr continues comeback in Iron Man 2

Robert Downey Jr. may be the biggest comeback story in Hollywood history.

After substance abuse problems and eventual incarceration, the actor came back in a string of critically acclaimed films like “Zodiac” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” In 2008, he improbably added “action hero” to his resume, starring as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in “Iron Man,” the second-highest grossing film of 2008. He added “Sherlock Holmes” in 2009, a top-10 grosser for 2009. Now he’s back again in the sequel to “Iron Man,” this weekend’s “Iron Man 2.” But having faced life behind bars and drug addiction, fame isn’t what motivates him.

“I have a job, and I like it a bunch,” Downey said while promoting “Iron Man 2” at Comic-Con International. “And I like it best when I’m doing it. And then there’s a bunch of other stuff.”

He said when he was a teenager, he craved the type of attention he now receives at Comic-Con and other gatherings, but he “didn’t want to have to do what it took to maybe earn anywhere near the kind of pseudo-respect that gets you in that position.”

He said it’s important to realize that cheering fans and media attention can be temporary.

“It feels good, but I also know that one should exert caution over things that feel good just for a second, and are done,” he said.