There is a whole generation of moviegoers who only know Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and as a supreme movie star.

Iron Man 4 News And Rumors

They don't remember the bad old days when his career seemed to be hanging on by a thread. To the people who do remember that, finding out that for the second year in a row Downey tops Forbes' highest earning actor list still feels a little jarring, even if rich, successful Robert Downey Jr. is now the new normal.

According to an Entertainment Weekly report on Monday, Downey made $75 million from the time period of June 2013 to June 2014, which is what Forbes uses for their report. In that time, Downey has had exactly one movie come out; Chef, a small independent film made by Jon Favreau. All this cash has come from past time spent as Iron Man, and future time spent in that suit as well. Is it any surprise that Downey was willing to spend a little time in Favreau's personal film? Favreau, in part, saved Downey's career.

Robert Downey Jr. Highest Paid Actor Of 2013

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson finished in second, and he will be starring in the film Hercules which comes out this Friday, so he may have another big pay day around the corner. Bradley Cooper came in third, Leonardo Dicaprio in fourth, and Chris Hemsworth, another Marvel movie veteran, rounded out the top five. The overall money made by this year's top five is down from last year, but we're still talking tens of millions of dollars here, so let us not shed a tear over this. In the end, one thing is clear: As long as Downey Jr. is playing Tony Stark, he's going to be good to go.