robert downey jr
Robert Downey Jr. was arrested numerous times on various drug charges and was a heavy marijuana, cocaine and heroin user. He even went to rehab numerous times but kept on relapsing until he finally kicked the habit and came back to give us some memorable roles as Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

"Iron Man" star Robert Downey Jr. has landed on top of the Forbes list of Top Earning Actors for the second consecutive year. The Forbes list is estimated from earnings between June 2013-2014 in which Robert Downey Jr. is believed to have raked in a whopping $75 million.

The enigmatic landed on top of the list the previous year as well earning approximately just as much as this year mostly for playing the lead role in "Iron Man" sequels and "The Avengers" movies.

Downey's success is pegged mostly on his flawless portrayal of genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark and his alter-ego Iron Man. He has now appeared in three "Iron Man" films, one "Avengers" movie with another one in production and set for release in 2015. He also had a bit part in the 2008 "The Incredible Hulk" flick and also served as voice talent in the "Iron Man" video game.

The "Iron Man" and "Avengers" movies have earned billions in the box office with additional revenue coming in from home video and download sales as well as countless merchandise. The role has been so synonymous with the actor that it gives Downey a lot of leverage against the studio to hike up his price tag.

In between the two Marvel superhero franchises, Downey has also had success portraying the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes in two installments and with the third rumored to be also on the way.

"Iron Man 4" is also a possibility at least if Downey had anything to do about the decision. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Downey stated that the decision will have to come through an agreement between Marvel Studios executives, Disney and of course himself. He further stated that he is open to it seeing as to how the franchise has been a massive success so far.

Robert Downey Jr. was not always a Hollywood success story. He enjoyed massive success in romantic comedies and chick flicks in the 80's-90's with classics such as "Chances Are,""Only You" and "Heart and Souls" but fell off the radar for a long time while battling with substance abuse issues and appearing in several projects but without much box office success. He made a mark again in the early 2000's by appearing in the popular series "Ally McBeal" but that fizzled out again until he sobered up and appeared in the first "Iron Man" film in 2008. The rest, they say is history and Downey has so far only been going up from there.

The Forbes list of Too Earning Actors includes only male actors and a separate list for actresses will also be published. The top three actors on the list incidentally, all play characters with special powers in their latest projects. The second man on the list is Dwayne Johnson or "The Rock" who appears in "Hercules" and third on the list is Bradley Cooper who voices Rocket Raccoon on Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy." Only Leonardo di Caprio made it on the top 5 landing on the fourth spot without any special powers. Iron Man's buddy Liam Hemsworth who plays "Thor" completes the top 5.