Robert Downey Jr., - and yes, he's every bit as cool in the flesh as you'd imagine - is discussing his role in Iron Man. "But it paid off I, I think."
The financial success of the film - $178m and counting - suggests that all that hard work has indeed paid off. The critics were pleased, the masses were pleased and, remarkably, the comic book fans were pleased, which is something Downey was keen to achieve. "It's important," he confirms. "You've really got to listen to their feedback but so far so good."
Co-star Gwyneth Paltrow was also very aware of the fans passion for the story and her character, sidekick and love interest Pepper Potts.
"It's a real honour to play her," she explains, and also reveals that she can now understand the fans' devotion. "I wasn't really a big comic book fan until I got signed-up for this film and got to understand the whole world and the imagination. Then I got really into it," she adds with a laugh.
Gwyneth is happy to admit that she's not as organised as Pepper –"but I try to be" - but also quick to point out that she's not as subservient either.
Robert and Gwyneth
As far as the film's success goes, the director, Swingers star Jon Favreau, cheerfully credits his "wonderful cast" but, understandably, gives a lot of the credit to Downey and his portrayal of Tony Stark, the wealthy inventor who creates the superhero of the title.
"It's the role of a lifetime for him. A lot of people thought Chaplin was but I happen to think that this guy was destined to be Tony Stark, because Robert's grown up in the public eye - everything good and bad that's happened to him in his life has been seen and Tony Stark is also a guy who's grown up in the public eye.
"Marvel heroes have always been a little offbeat," he adds, "and Iron Man has always been an outsider, so there's only one guy to go to and that's Robert because you want a guy who brings spontaneity, an unexpected sense of authority and somebody who would make people who wouldn't normally go to see a superhero movie come and see a superhero film."
Favreau goes on to explain that he wants the film to provide "laughs and excitement" and it's that sort of attitude which appealed to Downey. "I always hope to see a little bit of invention and a different take on the superhero," reveals the star. "Tony is a self-made superhero, the first one to make no apology in his inventions.
"Jon and I were big fans of what (Christopher) Nolan was able to do with Christian Bale in the whole Batman franchise and they did this very dirty, dark complex take on the superhero. And we thought they did that as good as it can be done, so we tried light and simple."
And achieved it – to box office smashing effect.
