Robert Downey Jr. would love to have been Hawkeye

Robert Downey Jr. would have liked to have played Hawkeye if he hadn't become Iron Man.

The 54-year-old actor played the superhero in 10 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before Tony Stark was killed off in 2019's 'Avengers: Endgame', but he has admitted that he would have loved to have stepped into Jeremy Renner's alter-ego's shoes.

During a round of 'Kids Ask Robert Downey Jr. Difficult Questions' for BBC Radio 1, the screen legend was asked which other superhero he'd like to have been if he wasn't Iron Man, to which he replied: "Looking back on it now - also because I'm just such a Jeremy Renner fan, and he made it so cool, particularly when he turns into Ronin [in 'Avengers: Endgame'] - I would say Hawkeye would be my go-to."

He also said that he "can't think" of any "red-blooded Americans" who wouldn't want to play Spider-Man.

The 'Dolittle' star recently admitted that seeing the excitement and wonder in the eyes of the kids he met and playing Iron Man made him want to be a better man.

He said: "There's something about when a kid looks at you invests you with these magical properties. Because we're all so - I'll speak for myself - broken and imperfect, and just trying to do the right thing and stay out of my own way. But when you are idealized you realize, 'Oh, it's not an obligation ... but you get to stand up inside yourself and live as an example.' So it's really put me in check, because I hate disappointing youth."

Robert also joked that he left the role because he wasn't making enough money from Marvel anymore.

He quipped: "The contract was up, no problem. When the wires stopped coming through, I was more than ready to let go."

The 'Sherlock Holmes' star recently hinted that a return to the MCU as Iron Man was unlikely, but not impossible.

He teased: "Yeah, anything could happen. As far as I'm concerned I've hung up my guns and I'm good to let it go. I also think Marvel is on this journey now where they're trying a bunch of other stuff. I'm excited for them to see how it all goes. It's hard to project but we got a lot of other stuff we want to do.

"The war for me is over. I personally have alighted to greener pastures."