Downey fan Ben Stiller

(BANG) - Ben Stiller wants to be like Robert Downey Jr.

The two actors star together in 'Tropic Thunder' and Ben was totally overwhelmed by the 'Iron Man' actor's abilities.

He told Playboy magazine: "I started trying to copy him. It was like, 'Wow, this guy's a genius - maybe if I do what he does, I'll be a genius too!'

"If he had spun around and thrown oat bran at the moon, I'd have run out, bought some oat bran and started spinning. I want to look like I'm as big a genius as he is."

Ben - who directs 'Tropic Thunder' - also spoke out about his close friend Owen Wilson's suicide attempt last August, saying: "It's impossible to understand that kind of pain - depression or anything like that - until you're in it.

"I love Owen. I felt bad that he had to deal with all the outside bulls**t."

Owen's troubled personal life caused him to pull out of 'Tropic Thunder'.

(C) BANG Media International