Hefner backs Downey Jr for 'Playboy'

Hugh Hefner has given Robert Downey Jr. his blessing to play him in an upcoming biopic.

The Playboy founder admitted that he had wanted Downey Jr. to portray him on screen long before the actor's turn as care-free billionaire Tony Stark in Iron Man.

"He's a very good actor," Hefner told Coming Soon. "It has nothing to do with Iron Man. Our conversations with Robert were in the months immediately before Iron Man. He called immediately after Iron Man and asked 'When we were going to do the movie?'"

Brett Ratner, who is attached to direct the untitled Hefner film, added that Downey Jr's performance in Chaplin proved that he was the right choice for the role: "Just look at him as Charlie Chaplin. You really believe it. I think if he spends time with Hef, he'll not just mimic him but he'll take on his nuances and his personality and the essence of Hefner."