He was in more but nothing that made him a movie star . Terrence Howard and Jeff bridges and he'll probably even Paltrow would of been considered bigger stars than Downey when they did iron man1 .
Marvel still Isn't paying for as far as I can see. That's why supposedly Batista got drax over khal drago ( even though Batista killed it ) due to salary demands. Marvel kind of looks at it like you being in a hit marvel movie can raise your profile for other stuff , look at Colson and how he spun that into his own starring TV show , hemsworth is cashing in , Evans wants to direct so that's why he may leave but it helps him to be attached to marvel as one of the top guys .