Robert Downey Jr. says Pedro Pascal's "slow trajectory" to becoming a "household name" has reaffirmed his "faith" in the entertainment industry

He told Vanity Fair magazine: "Pascal's slow trajectory to becoming a household name who is on a wildly hot streak kind of reaffirms my faith in our industry."

Pascal's breakout role came in 2014 when he portrayed Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones, and he went on to play Javier Pena in Netflix crime show Narcos.

More recently, Pascal told how he heads to Downey Jr.'s house for Avengers cast "homework" days ahead of starring in Doomsday, in which he will play Reed Richards/ Mister Fantastic, and he praised his pal as "so immediately generous and inviting".

Speaking about Downey Jr. - who will play Victor von Doom/ Doctor Doom in the 2026 movie - the 50-year-old actor said: "He's just so immediately generous and inviting that you feel like you can be afraid, you can be hungry, you can be ambivalent."

Vanessa Kirby will also appear in Avengers: Doomsday, as Sue Storm/ Invisible Woman, and she has found Pascal to be someone you can "trust".

She explained to the publication: "He doesn't have much armour, so he shows himself to you straight away, and you trust that person because he's revealing himself to you in this very brave way."

Pascal previously came under fire from some following a clip of him placing a hand on his Fantastic Four: First Steps co-star Kirby at a Comic-Con panel.

However, the 37-year-old actress has insisted it was a "lovely gesture", and she was "very glad" to give his hand a squeeze in return.

She said: "What happened is we were both incredibly nervous going out in front of thousands of people who love this comic.

"He wanted me to know that we were in this together, and I found it a lovely gesture and was very glad to squeeze his hand back."