Robert Downey Jr’s inspiring speech from the Avengers premiere is going viral

Whatever you think of the Marvel movies, they are an incredible achievement.

Nineteen movies – and counting – that all come together to tell a massive, interlinking story, produced over the course of a decade. And it all comes together for the third Avengers movie, Infinity War, which is finally out in cinemas this week. The movie has been kept under more secrecy than Spider-man’s secret identity, but on Tuesday night it finally had its World Premiere in LA. And Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr stepped up to give an incredible speech about just not about the MCU itself, but also about the power of heroes in movies and his own personal journey. He started out with:

“The past for me was 30 years of dependency, depravity, and despair …. otherwise known as ‘An Actor Prepares!’ “The present is this moment of glory for all of us. And the future…? That is always uncertain. But looking at these friends behind me, it seems like things might brighten up after all.”

To put that in context, Downey Jr has battled his own high profile demons and addictions over the years. And his once-promising career looked to be washed-up until he was given a second chance by playing Tony Stark. He continued:

“If you play a superhero in one of these movies, and it works, you become a big star! And it … is … meaningless. “Unless you use that to achieve something higher. You have to take direction from peers, and your family, and occasionally even an actual director. Now at least half a directing team is female. Making these movies is so taxing that it is clearly a woman’s job. It’s essentially gestation. But we don’t because to do that.”

He finished off with:

“This is the MCU, right in front of you. It’s all about fighting for equality. The whole idea is to make space for others to succeed, and exceed our expectations. “[These movies] are inviting us to surrender and love and be of service. They are metaphors for how our world should be — or could be one day, if we fight for it.”

Truly a speech worthy of a superhero.