The Marvel Cinematic Universe is, in large part, the powerhouse it is today thanks to the studio head’s efforts Kevin Feige and the countless people who work at Marvel Studios. Of course, an actor named Robert Downey Jr. also deserves some credit, as his first performance as Tony Stark in 2008 Iron Man helped propel the film to box office success. After all these years, it’s honestly hard to imagine anyone else playing the mustachioed hero except for Downey. Believe it or not, he wasn’t the studio’s “first choice” for Stark, as the other name they had in mind had passed. Feige recently recalled this when discussing split ends in life and more during a recent speech.

Kevin Feige returned to his alma mater, the University of Southern California, to address the class of 2023. Based on the video which was shared with Youtube, many graduates raved about the producer’s anecdotes about his experiences as a student and filmmaker. The speech was funny and engaging, but the icing on the cake was the Iron Man history. Before going into the main details of this behind-the-scenes story, he talked about a major ingredient that comes into play when navigating the ups and downs of life:

There’s a funny Tony Stark story I’d like to leave you with. I can say, “Embrace your flaws, be persistent, surround yourself with an incredible group of collaborators. But there will always be things that are out of your control. One of these elements is luck. You can have the best ideas, the best plans, the best intentions. But unless life aligns perfectly, they may never happen. And that’s not a bad thing, sometimes it can be a good thing.