PA Images/Sipa USA#TeamIronMan has some little—but mighty—new members.
Robert Downey Jr., 51, visited the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London Monday, where he met with several young fans hours before the Captain America: Civil War's European premiere.
Downey spent time bonding with 7-year-old Ethan Miller from Southend, Essex, who suffers from the rare blood disease ITP, as well as type 1 diabetes. Ethan was dressed in costume as his favorite Marvel superhero—Iron Man, of course—and posed for pictures with Downey and his parents. "Ethan has been in and out of hospital a lot in the past three years. He watches the films all the time and virtually lives in his Iron Man costume," Ethan's father, Lee Miller, told reporters. "Ethan was over the moon to meet his hero and it has really helped to lift his spirits."
The actor, who has played Iron Man since 2008, also posed for pictures with Charlie Dawson, 1, Chloe Bowers, 5, Denisa Kapsalis, 7, and several other children. Downey spent the afternoon making patients laugh and handing out movie merchandise.
Disney, which has worked with the hospital's charity since 2008, organized the visit. "The highlight of the Captain America: Civil War tour has been visiting the patients, families and staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital," Downey said in a statement. "Their courage, strength and hope leaves me humbly inspired."
The actor later joined Daniel Brühl, Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Elizabeth Olsen, Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd and Emily VanCamp for a photo call at the Corinthia Hotel.
Downey discussed the visit during a Facebook Live chat Tuesday, calling it "incredibly inspiring." He also spoke about his fundraiser with Omaze. "This is for a chance to hang out with me in New York. That's my hometown, all right? I let my hair down. It's going to be great. We're going to share pizza, we're going to see Captain America: Civil War, and it's all to benefit Random Act Funding," he said.
At some point, Downey hopes to raise money for his fans' favorite charities. "You could literally be guiding where some of the donations would go just by participating in this, my second annual fundraiser with Omaze," he said. And because he was feeling generous, he asked his fans, "Did I tell you that I'm going to add a couple more seats? It's gonna be great."
Downey doesn't just play a superhero on the big screen—he strives to act like one in real life, too. In March 2015, he visited 7-year-old Alex Pring, who was born with a partially developed right arm. Showing up in character, he presented Pring with a bionic Iron Man arm. Downey also had a special message for a young boy suffering from cystic fibrosis in October 2015, donning a Tigger costume and posing for an Instagram photo to cheer him up. "Mr. Stark here. This is for Daniel (@envy_coatings) who was having a rough day recently. When I'm in the dumps, I've found this little getup to be helpful," he wrote. "P.S. Would you like to come to the LA premiere of Captain America: Civil War as my guest? If so, have your people call my people. All the best."
Captain America: Civil War is in theaters May 6.