BECAUSE IRON MAN 2 HAD started filming without a final script, and because Downey’s spontaneous approach had paid off the first time, the actor now had even more freedom to ad-lib on the set. His quick-witted patter helped infuse Tony Stark with the intelligence and charm that audiences loved. The downside was that sometimes during the shooting day, the actors’ improvisations would send the plot careening in new directions and then Theroux would have to spend the night revising the screenplay, trying to make sense of it all. The stress was so great that Theroux’s back gave out and, for a time,
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