Cheeseburger first

Iron Man (2008)

Directed by Jon Favreau
Written by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
Starring (in this scene) Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Gwenyth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stone

Chef’s Note:  Not sure this is the kind of product endorsement Burger King was hoping for-

But, there’s a surprisingly moving backstory to the reason cheeseburgers are associated with Tony Stark, and it has to with Robert Downey Jr.’s troubled history of drug addiction.

According to a 2008 interview aggregated from The NY Daily News, Downey Jr. says Burger King’s cheeseburgers helped push him to get clean and get started on the path of recovery.

“I have to thank Burger King,” he said. “It was such a disgusting burger I ordered. I had that, and this big soda, and I thought something really bad was going to happen.” Downey Jr.

The article goes on to say that Downey Jr., who had previously served jail time for drug charges, then threw all the “dope” he had in his car into the ocean and committed to rehab. The cheeseburgers then, aren’t just a crass product placement, but a nod to a pivotal moment in the actors life that set him on the path to recovery, much like Tony Stark himself.

Chef’s Note:  Happy National Cheeseburger Day!