Uri Margolin claims, “Characters are abstract in the sense that they do not exist in real space and time, an are more like concepts in this regard. Consequently, they are not open to direct perception by us, and can be known only through the textual descriptions or inferences based on those descriptions” (68). This fundamental assumption about the nature of character simply does not translate to the subject of film, where there is an ACTUAL PERSON representing the character, giving him or her a physical reality—and, in some cases, contributing extra-textual elements to the narrative’s character development.
Leslie (http://sites.middlebury.edu/stonebrakernarrative) aptly points to the way in which actors can have a sort of trademark character type (often developed by one “hit” character, as with Matthew Perry as Chandler on Friends) in her discussion of Margolin’s assertion that characters must have an identity that is singularly distinct from other coexisting individuals. Surely that is one way an actor contributes to their role, but equally significant in our culture of tabloid gossip is the actor’s “real” life or celebrity personality. This can be good or bad, perhaps most frequently detrimental to a film’s efforts to define a character, but not always.
In Iron Man, the character of Tony Stark has some significant biographical similarities to the star, Robert Downey, Jr., which Jon Favreau uses to expedite the exposition and add a darker side to the character’s back-story. After Stark’s military escort in the middle east comes under attack, we flash back to an award ceremony in Las Vegas and get a glimpse of Tony’s party-boy lifestyle—he gambles instead of accepting his award, has a one-night stand with an attractive young reporter, turns his jet into a dance club, etc. All of these things are relatively harmless (definitely PG-13), but the audience brings to the film their knowledge of Downey’s personal tabloid past—drugs, arrests, attempts at rehab—which adds a darker edge to the picture of pre-attack Tony. This type of person was probably doing more than just drinking, but the film doesn’t need to show it for us to get the idea. Downey’s public personal history, namely how he seems to have kicked the drugs and now capitalizes on his talents as an actor (long referred to as one of the best of his generation by various critics), makes Tony’s decision to live a more meaningful life as Iron Man all the more poignant.