Actress Gwyneth Paltrow credits fellow thespian Robert Downey Jr. with convincing her to take on the role of Virginia "Pepper" Potts in next summer's blockbuster Iron Man.

"Robert called me and he said, 'This is gonna be fun, and this is gonna be good,' " recalled Paltrow.  "And then he said to me, 'Don't you want to be in a movie that people see?'  And I was like, Whoa! What would that feel like?"

Known for her rolls in such indie films as The Royal Tenenbaums, Proof and Running with Scissors, Paltrow was intrigued with starring in a big budget summer tentpole.  "Moviemaking is not supposed to be a masturbatory exercise," explained Paltrow.  "It's supposed to be shared by other people."