Robert Downey Jr. plays an innovator as Tony Stark in the Iron Man movies, but he met some real life innovators during an Iron Man 3 event in Hollywood Friday night.
The Iron Man 3: Inventor and Innovator Fair at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood featured 12 student finalists from around the country who created impressive science projects. According to BroadwayWorld, there were over 300 submissions, which judges whittled down to 30 semi-finalists. The finalists got a trip to Disneyland, a chance to meet Disney Imagineers and a trip to Discovery Science Center. But a meeting with Tony Stark himself was not on that list, so his appearance at the event was a complete shock.
USA Today reports that Downey Jr. told the students, who ranged from sixth to ninth grade, “I hate to say this, but I'm humbled...I congratulate all of you.”
He added, “I am very pleased to be introducing the future design team of the next Tony Stark Iron Man suit.”
During his speech, he called these students, the real “big stars” of today. “This whole series is about someone who invents something out of necessity. It's nice entertainment. But I am just so pleased to be part of the youth of America representing the things that are going to be keeping the planet sustainable and push technology and innovation forward for years to come.”
Iron Man 3 opened in theaters on Friday. Deadline reports that the film is expected to finish the weekend with $165 million to $170 million. Early estimates suggest that it made as much as $70 million on Friday alone.