Terrence Howard Says Robert Downey Jr. Squeezed Him Out of ‘Iron Man 2’

(Reuters)

On a recent episode of Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live," actor Terrence Howard explained exactly why he didn't return to reprise his role in "Iron Man 2."

In response to a question about that infamous casting decision, in which actor Don Cheadle replaced Howard as Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Howard told WWHL host Andy Cohen that the star of the movie did him wrong.

"It turns out that the person that I helped become Iron Man, when it was time … to re-up for the second one, took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out," Howard told Cohen.

Howard was obviously referring to Robert Downey Jr., though he didn't say it in so many words.

He also claimed that despite signing a three-picture deal for an agreed-upon salary, Marvel Studios didn't feel it was important to stick to their end of the bargain. "They came to me with the second [film] and said, 'Look, we will pay you one-eighth of what we contractually had for you because we think the second one will be successful with or without you." Howard said he called Downey Jr. after, but didn't hear back for three months.

When asked by Cohen what he thinks of Downey Jr. now, an unsmiling Howard replied, "Oh, I love him. God's gonna bless him."