 The father of Tony Stark , who worked on various government projects dating back to the World War II era . About the role , Cooper stated , " It 's an opportunity where you can see his future because I know the guy who becomes my son and I see myself as an older version in Iron Man 2 which is great for an actor to have those tools . All I know of him is that he 's a fantastic engineer and inventor and a very slick Howard Hughes type that 's into aviation and women ! " 
