<Ul> <Li> Terrence Howard as James "Rhodey" Rhodes: A friend of Stark's, and the liaison between Stark Industries and the United States Air Force in the department of acquisitions, specifically weapons development . Favreau cast Howard because he felt he could play War Machine in a sequel . Howard prepared for the role by visiting Nellis Air Force Base on March 16, 2007, where he ate with the pilots and observed HH - 60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters and F - 22 Raptors . While Rhodes is roguish in the comics after he met Stark, his earlier disciplinarian character forms a dynamic with Stark, and he is unsure whether or not Stark's actions are acceptable . "Rhodey is completely disgusted with the way Tony has lived his life, but at a certain point he realizes that perhaps there is a different way," Howard said . "Whose life is the right way; is it the strict military life, or the life of an independent?" Howard and his father are Iron Man fans, partly because Rhodes was one of the few black superheroes when he was a child . He was a Downey fan since he saw him in Weird Science, and the two competed physically on set . </Li> <Li> Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane: Stark's business second - in - command, mentor and friend who turns on him to overtake the company, eventually building a giant exosuit to fight Stark . Bridges read the comics as a boy and liked Favreau's modern, realistic approach . He shaved his head, something he had wanted to do for some time, and grew a beard for the role . Bridges googled the Book of Obadiah, and was surprised to learn retribution is a major theme in that book of the Bible, something which Stane represents . Many of Stane's scenes were cut to focus more on Stark, but the writers felt Bridges's performance allowed the application of "less is more". </Li> <Li> Shaun Toub as Yinsen: Stark's fellow captive, who grafts an electromagnet to Stark's chest "to keep the shrapnel shell shards that wounded him from reaching his heart and killing him", and who helps Stark build the first Iron Man suit . </Li> <Li> Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts: Stark's personal assistant and budding love interest . Paltrow asked Marvel to send her any comics they would consider relevant to her understanding of the character, who she considered to be very smart, levelheaded, and grounded . She said she liked "the fact that there's a sexuality that's not blatant ." Favreau wanted Potts' and Stark's relationship to be reminiscent of a 1940s comedy, something which Paltrow considered to be fun in an "innocent yet sexy" way . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Terrence Howard as James "Rhodey" Rhodes: A friend of Stark's, and the liaison between Stark Industries and the United States Air Force in the department of acquisitions, specifically weapons development . Favreau cast Howard because he felt he could play War Machine in a sequel . Howard prepared for the role by visiting Nellis Air Force Base on March 16, 2007, where he ate with the pilots and observed HH - 60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters and F - 22 Raptors . While Rhodes is roguish in the comics after he met Stark, his earlier disciplinarian character forms a dynamic with Stark, and he is unsure whether or not Stark's actions are acceptable . "Rhodey is completely disgusted with the way Tony has lived his life, but at a certain point he realizes that perhaps there is a different way," Howard said . "Whose life is the right way; is it the strict military life, or the life of an independent?" Howard and his father are Iron Man fans, partly because Rhodes was one of the few black superheroes when he was a child . He was a Downey fan since he saw him in Weird Science, and the two competed physically on set . </Li> <Li> Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane: Stark's business second - in - command, mentor and friend who turns on him to overtake the company, eventually building a giant exosuit to fight Stark . Bridges read the comics as a boy and liked Favreau's modern, realistic approach . He shaved his head, something he had wanted to do for some time, and grew a beard for the role . Bridges googled the Book of Obadiah, and was surprised to learn retribution is a major theme in that book of the Bible, something which Stane represents . Many of Stane's scenes were cut to focus more on Stark, but the writers felt Bridges's performance allowed the application of "less is more". </Li> <Li> Shaun Toub as Yinsen: Stark's fellow captive, who grafts an electromagnet to Stark's chest "to keep the shrapnel shell shards that wounded him from reaching his heart and killing him", and who helps Stark build the first Iron Man suit . </Li>

Who plays the bad guy in iron man