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Robert Downey says he was ‘den mother’ on ‘Avengers’ set

Jeremy Renner kisses Scarlett Johansson as they pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere for the film 'The Avengers Age of Ultron' in London, Tuesday, 21 April, 2015. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
Jeremy Renner kisses Scarlett Johansson as they pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere for the film 'The Avengers Age of Ultron' in London, Tuesday, 21 April, 2015. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP) Jeremy Renner kisses Scarlett Johansson as they pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere for the film 'The Avengers Age of Ultron' in London, Tuesday, 21 April, 2015. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

LONDON (AP) – It’s hard to imagine Robert Downey Jr. as the authoritarian type, but the actor says he played a stabilizing force amid the ever-growing cast of superheroes during the filming of “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

“I am an assistant den mother for him (director Joss Whedon) – we’re more contemporaries,” Downey said at the film’s London premiere on Tuesday, where he was accompanied by others in the cast, including Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo.

“With some younger talent, they’re very exuberant; I remember when I was that way. I kind of feel like I’m the assistant principal.”

The 50-year-old Downey plays Iron Man in the film, the sequel to the 2012 blockbuster “Avengers” movie.

For Johansson, the screen reunion was “amazing.”