Broken Ankle No Big Thing for Downey as 'Iron Man'

Robert Downey Jr. reveals that breaking his ankle while making Iron Man 3 was no big deal and considers continually playing the superhero to be his "family business" in his all-new sit-down with ET's Brooke Anderson.

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"I did alright, I broke my ankle once, but then that gave us time to do some more script revisions," says a somewhat aloof Robert when asked how his body held up during the at-times demanding shoot. "It really isn't that big a deal. It happens all the time."

"What doesn't happen all the time is that the third movie in a franchise series winds up actually meeting the expectations of a pretty savvy audience," adds Robert, spinning his misfortune into a positive note. "I love that people are seeing the movie and enjoying it, otherwise it would be a big bummer."

Of course, Robert has appeared as Iron Man/Tony Stark four different times if you also count a little movie called The Avengers. The 48-year-old star's family will be out in full force to support him at the film's premiere this week, and he jokes, "It's kind of like us getting together for, I don't know, if a construction company put up a new building, or a demo company has leveled the building, you know, that's how we do things."

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As for his co-star Gwyneth Paltrow, who finally gets to don the Iron Man suit this time around, Robert reveals, "I have been waiting for Pepper [Potts]to be in the suit since the first Iron Man. I thought that would just be the sexiest, most empowering thing," adding, "It would be a darn shame not to give [the franchise's female fans] a little girl power."

Watch ET for more with Robert and the stars of Iron Man 3, in theaters and IMAX 3D starting May 3!