Ty Simpkins Dishes Working With Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 3

He appeared in his first role when he was only 3 weeks old,  and has been acting ever since.

We spoke to Ty Simpkins about his experiences on the Iron Man 3 set, his history with superhero fandom, and what he's going to do next. In the film, Ty plays a kid from Tennessee named Harley Keener.

"Harley's character is a child super-genius," Ty told us. "He's pretty awesome, and he's a smart straight-A student in school. You see him throw a snowball at a guy's head with a snowball gun he made, and he ends up getting held hostage. That was pretty scary."

Lucky for Harley, Tony Stark (aka Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr. in the film) shows up in time to help him escape the villain's clutches.

"The funnest part of filming Iron Man was probably that it was my first action movie," Ty said. "It was great to actually get to do some action scenes."

Even though Ty is a box-office star now, he still attends school like most kids.

"You have to balance it," he explained. "You get your homework, your independent study stuff from school and you have a set tutor. Whenever you get a break, the tutor sits down with you and helps you do your classwork. It's just like having a teacher on set."

Iron Man 3, which released on May 3, has had the second-highest box office opening of all time, right behind The Avengers.

"It's pretty amazing to be a part of that," Ty said. "I never thought I'd even get that role until I got to audition. That's pretty crazy I was in it."

Ty has been a fan of the Iron Man series since he saw the first movie when he was 6.

"It was pretty awesome to finally be in an Iron Man movie," Ty said of the role. " That movie is what made me get into comics."

The plot of Iron Man 3 keeps Harley isolated from the main events of the film and hanging out with Tony Stark in a remote location. But he did eventually got to meet Iron Man stars Don Cheadle and Gwenyth Paltrow on the film's red carpet.

Ty's also an Avengers fan. Besides Iron Man, who is his favorite of the Avengers?

"Captain America all the way," Ty told us. "Hopefully I'll get to be in Avengers 2 as a cameo—or as a full character. That would be even better."

Ty just wrapped up filming the horror movie sequel to his 2010 film, Insidious. Insidious: Chapter Two, will be out in September.

"I also just filmed this movie called Conversations With Andy," Ty said. "I play a kid named Dan who is going through hard times. He winds up meeting Andy Warhol, who helps him out."

What advice does Ty have for aspiring kid actors?

"Try your best," Ty said. "Feel the moment."

Harley Keener might be a super genius, but Ty has some ideas of his own for future Iron Man suits.

"I would add in invisibility," Ty said. "I would also probably add in a new paint job. It'd have really cool race flames on the arms and on the side of the heads and legs."

And if Ty could create his own Marvel superhero, his name would be "Awesome Guy."

"I'd have the power to shoot repulsers out of my hands, plus the power to control fire," Ty said. "And I'd be able to generate hot dogs, and make the power come out of my face to cook them."

Sounds like Ty Simpkins has really got this whole superhero thing thought out! Make sure to check out Iron Man 3, in theaters now.