He may play a superhero on film, but Robert Downey Jr. is all too human in real life.
The 47-year-old injured his ankle while shooting a stunt on the North Carolina set of Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios said in a statement to E! News.
The threequel will briefly halt production until the star is back on the mend.
"Robert Downey Jr. sustained an ankle injury on the set of Iron Man 3 in Wilmington, N.C., while performing a stunt," the studio said. "There will be a short delay in the production schedule while he recuperates."
Expectations are running high for the eagerly anticipated sequel following the first two films' staggering global grosses, which topped out at $585 million and $623 million, respectively.
The Shane Black–helmed flick began shooting in May with a cast that includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall and Guy Pearce, and a top-secret plot believed to be inspired by the comic book's popular Extremis storyline, in which a scientist creates a drug that grants people superhuman abilities.
Filmmakers set the geekverse abuzz last month by screening teaser footage at Comic-Con that answered a few questions, including speculation that Kingsley is playing criminal mastermind Mandarin. (Yep, he is.)
Black told E! News at Comic-Con that half the film had already been shot, and that if they "don't f--k up the rest, it's going to be great." We bet!
Iron Man 3 hits theaters on May 3, 2013.

在荧幕上小罗伯特·唐尼（Robert Downey Jr.)可能扮演的是英雄，在现实生活中他却是个完完全全的普通人。
漫威影业在一份声明中表示，这位47岁的演员在北卡罗来纳拍摄《钢铁侠3》（Iron Man3)的特技时不慎脚踝受伤。《钢铁侠3》的拍摄将暂停，直至这位主演从伤情中恢复。
于北卡罗来纳的威明顿市拍摄《钢铁侠3》的过程中，小罗伯特·唐尼在完成一项特技时脚踝受伤。”漫威影业称。“在他恢复期间，拍摄日程将会短暂延期。”
在前两部电影取得优异的全球票房（分别是五亿八千五百万美元和六亿两千三百万美元）之后，对这部备受关注的续集的期待也持续高涨。
这部由沙恩·布莱克（Shane Black)执导的电影于五月份开始拍摄，卡司包括格温妮丝·帕特洛（Gwyneth Paltrow),本·金斯利(Ben Kingsley),丽贝卡·霍尔(Rebecca Hall)和盖·皮尔斯(Guy Pearce)。电影的机密情节的灵感据说是来自于漫画中备受欢迎的'绝境'(Extremis)故事线,其中一位科学家创造了一种药品，使普通人能够获得超人类的能力。
电影制作团队上月在漫展上放映了一些先行镜头，让死忠们都激动不已。预告片中也回答了一些问题，包括金斯利是否会出演超级反派满大人（Mandarin)。(答案是“是！”)
布莱克在漫展上告诉E!News电影的一半已经拍摄完成，如果他们“不把剩下的部分搅得一团糟的话，这部电影将会非常棒。”我们确信！
《钢铁侠3》将于2013年5月3日在影院上映。