….
Josh had never been on a film set before.
The warehouse where they built the suits was organized chaos - controlled, methodical, familiar.
This was different. This was a living thing, constantly shifting, hundreds of people moving with purpose around lights and cameras and equipment he couldn't even name.
And he was part of it now.
"Are you sure about this?" Marcus had asked when Josh told him about Regal's offer. "You are going to be on set during the actual shooting?"
"He needs someone from the suit team there." Josh had explained, still not quite believing it himself. "For quick repairs, adjustments, technical questions. He asked for me specifically."
Marcus had grinned. "Of course he did. You are the guy who obsesses over details nobody else sees."
Now, standing on the edge of Stage 6 at Raleigh Studios, Josh understood why Regal wanted him here.
Robert Downey Jr. was in the Mark III suit, and something wasn't articulating correctly in the left shoulder joint.
"Josh?" One of the ADs - assistant directors - waved him over. "Can you take a look?"
This was his job now.
Make sure the suits worked. Make sure the actor could move. Make sure the impossible looked effortless.
He could barely breathe from excitement.
….
Day 67 of filming | The Workshop Scene.
"Alright people, listen up."
Regal's voice cut through the stage noise, and everyone stopped. Josh was learning that Regal didn't yell, didn't demand. He just spoke, and people listened.
"Today we are shooting the workshop assembly sequence. Tony building the Mark III from scratch. This is the most technically complex scene we have attempted so far."
Josh felt a chill run down his spine.
He had read the script. This scene was insane.
Tony Stark, alone in his workshop, constructing the suit piece by piece. Holographic displays everywhere.
Robotic arms assisting. JARVIS providing readouts. And all of it had to look real, functional, like actual technology.
"We have got seventeen different camera setups." Regal continued. "Practical effects, CG markers, live hologram projections. We are going to be here for three days minimum. Maybe four. This sequence is twelve minutes of screen time, and every second has to be perfect."
He looked around the stage. "This is the scene that makes people believe. Not the flying. Not the fighting. This. Tony building something impossible with his own hands. If we don't nail this, nothing else matters."
The gravity of it settled over everyone.
Josh had thought they were prepared for the suit builds, but that was nothing compared to this.
The workshop set was a technical marvel.
Every holographic display was pre-programmed with actual engineering readouts - schematics, material stress calculations, power consumption metrics. Most of it would be replaced in post-production, but Regal insisted on having real data there.
"Robert needs to react to real information." Regal had explained during prep. "If the screens are blank or just showing random numbers, his performance will be fake. Give him actual engineering problems to solve, and he will solve them as Tony Stark."
The hologram text was fully scripted. Every line JARVIS would say, every readout that would appear, every diagnostic result - all written, all planned, all ready.
This wasn't normal. Most films did this in post-production, added the graphics later, told the actors to "just pretend something's there."
Not Regal. He wanted it real.
"Check the gauntlet display." Regal called out. "Make sure the repulsor charging sequence is loaded."
A tech scrambled to verify.
Josh watched in awe as they tested every hologram, every light, every moving part. The robotic arms that would hand Robert tools were fully practical - actual machines programmed to move on cue.
"How long did the hologram programming take?" Josh asked a nearby operator.
"Six weeks. Still debugging." The guy grinned. "Worth it though. Wait till you see it active.
….
Soon enough, Robert Downey Jr. walked onto the set in cargo pants and a Black Sabbath t-shirt, and the entire energy shifted.
Josh had seen him in the suit before, during fittings. But this was different. This was Tony Stark walking into his workshop.
"Morning, everyone." Robert surveyed the set, taking in every detail. He walked to the main workbench, touched the tools, examined the holographic displays. "This is incredible. Regal, this is unbelievable."
"Wait until you see it active." Regal said. "Let's run through the sequence once without cameras. I want you to feel the space, understand the flow."
What happened next made Josh's jaw drop.
Robert moved through the workshop like he owned it. Picking up tools, checking readouts, talking to JARVIS - who was being voiced live by Paul Bettany through speakers for the actors to react to.
"Okay, the repulsor here needs more power." Robert muttered, examining a holographic display. "JARVIS, reroute from the chest piece, compensate for the draw."
"Sir, that would leave the arc reactor at 40% capacity." Paul's voice responded through the speakers.
"I know. Do it anyway."
The holographic displays actually changed, showing the power reroute in real-time. Robert watched them, nodded, continued working.
Josh felt goosebumps ripple across his arms.
RDJ.
"He is not reading lines." Josh whispered to Marcus, who had come to watch. "He's actually problem-solving."
"I can see it myself, dude." Marcus whispered back.
"I was just saying if anyone was wondering."
"Well, nobody is… so shut up."
….
Next scene. Setup 9 of 17.
This was the moment: Tony putting on the chest piece for the first time. The arc reactor slotting into the Mark III armor. The suit powering up around him.
It required perfect timing. The practical chest piece had to align exactly. The lights had to sequence correctly. The holographic displays had to react.
And Robert had to sell the physical sensation of the suit coming alive.
"This is one continuous shot." Regal explained. "Three minutes, no cuts. Robert, you are going to feel the weight of the chest piece - it's forty-two pounds. Let that inform your movement. When the arc reactor connects, the suit powers up. You will see the holograms change, the lights activate. Let that surprise you. Let Tony feel what he's created."
They rehearsed eight times. Adjusted lights. Tweaked the timing. Reset.
"Alright." Regal finally said. "Let's go for real. This is picture."
The AD called out: "Rolling!"
"Speed!"
"Mark!"
Silence fell over the stage.
Robert stood at the workbench, the arc reactor in his hands. His expression was focused, but Josh could see something else there. Anticipation. Fear. Excitement.
Tony Stark, about to become Iron Man.
Robert lifted the arc reactor, positioned it carefully. The chest piece was held by the robotic arms, waiting. He guided it into place, and the magnets clicked - a sound they had spent hours perfecting.
The arc reactor pulsed blue.
Holographic displays erupted around him, bathing the workshop in electric light. Diagnostic readouts scrolled past. Power levels climbed.
And Robert's face–
Josh had never seen anything like it.
It was wonder. Pure, childlike wonder. The face of a man seeing his impossible dream come true. But underneath that, something deeper. Responsibility. Weight. The understanding that he'd just created something that would change everything.
"JARVIS." Robert said quietly. "Run a full diagnostic."
"All systems operational, sir." Paul's voice through the speakers. "The Mark III is ready."
Robert's hand hovered over the glowing arc reactor in his chest. He pressed it gently, feeling its warmth.
"Yeah." he whispered. "I think it is."
The lights stabilized. The holograms shifted to standby. And Robert just stood there, this man in a workshop, wearing the heart of a machine, looking simultaneously like he had won and lost something irreplaceable.
"Cut!" Regal called.
Nobody moved. Nobody breathed.
Regal stood up from his chair, walked onto the set. He looked at Robert for a long moment.
"That was perfect." Regal said quietly. "That was exactly who Tony Stark is."
Robert nodded, not breaking character yet. "He is terrified."
"Yes."
"He knows what this means. What he's about to do."
"Yes."
"And he's going to do it anyway."
"That's the character." Regal confirmed. "You just gave it to us in one take."
…..
Josh stood frozen at his station, tool kit forgotten in his hands.
He had spent six months building these suits. Obsessing over every detail, every scratch, every imperfection, and making them real.
But they weren't real until now. Until Robert Downey Jr. put one on and made everyone believe.
"You okay?" Marcus asked.
Josh couldn't speak. Couldn't explain what he had just witnessed.
The suits were amazing, yes. The engineering was incredible, yes.
But none of it mattered without the person inside. Without someone who could take forty-two pounds of fiberglass and urethane and make you believe it was cutting-edge technology. Make you believe it was hope and fear and responsibility all forged together.
"That's why it had to be him." Josh finally managed. "Not just any actor. Him. Robert Downey Jr."
"Yeah." Marcus said. "Now I get it."
Because Robert wasn't playing a superhero. He was playing a man who built armor around his heart - literally and figuratively.
A man who had failed, who had been broken, who decided to be better.
And everyone on set knew that wasn't just acting.
Robert Downey Jr. had lived that story. The fall. The struggle. The decision to become something better.
Tony Stark was him. Or he was Tony Stark.
The line didn't exist anymore.
…..
That Evening
Josh was packing up his tools when Regal approached.
"Good work today. The chest piece performed perfectly."
"Thank you, sir."
Regal studied him. "You saw it, didn't you? What happened in that scene."
Josh nodded, not trusting his voice.
"That's what we are building here." Regal said. "Not just a superhero movie. Something real. Something that means something." He paused. "Your suits are part of that. Every detail you obsessed over, every imperfection you added - Robert felt that. It helped him find the character."
"I just polished metal."
"No." Regal corrected gently. "You built Tony Stark's armor. There's a difference. And today, everyone saw what that difference means."
After Regal walked away, Josh sat down on an equipment case and just breathed.
Five months ago, he was nobody. A prop assistant who cared too much about details nobody would see.
Now he was part of something that would change everything.
He looked at the Mark III suit, standing silent on its rig under work lights. Tomorrow they would shoot the flying sequences. The action. The spectacle.
But today - today they had captured the soul of it.
A man in a workshop, building armor around his heart.
And Josh had helped make it real.
….
The Morning After.
The footage from yesterday's shoot was already legendary.
People who hadn't even been on set were talking about it. The DP called it "the best single take I have ever filmed." The line producers were reportedly crying in the screening room.
And Robert? Robert showed up that morning, saw Josh, and walked over.
"Hey. Suit guy."
Josh froze. "Yes, sir?"
"That chest piece. The weight, the way it sits. It's perfect. It helped me find the moment." Robert held out his hand. "Thank you for caring about the details."
Josh shook his hand, speechless.
After Robert walked away, Marcus appeared at Josh's shoulder.
"Still think what you believe doesn't matter?"
Josh laughed, shaky and overwhelmed. "I think I need to sit down."
"Nope. We have got the Mark II stunt suit that needs adjustments for the ice-up scene. No rest for the obsessive."
But Josh was grinning as he grabbed his toolkit.
Because yesterday, he'd watched something impossible become real.
And he had helped build it.
One detail at a time.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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