Robert Downey to Play Hugh Hefner?

And see, kids, this is what happens when you land a big-ass summer blockbuster: The phone starts ringing. Robert Downey Jr., who admitted in a recent GQ article that part of the appeal of making Iron Man was to be in something enormous, a movie people would actually see, may be up for something a bit more risque, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.

Hugh Hefner has apparently given his blessing to Downey portraying the robed one in a bio-pic that chronicles Hefner's life as the biggest playboy of them all. Hefner was reportedly pleased with the versatility in Downey's performance as Tony Stark, a bit of a playboy himself.

Of course, Hef nodded off 33 minutes into the movie, but what he saw, he really liked.

At one time, Brett Ratner was slated to direct Playboy (that's the working title), but he's currently on the outside looking in at the moment, and let's hope it stays that way.

Here's where it gets a little tricky: As fun as all this sounds, Downey's phone is ringing for other projects, too.  His people confirm that he's interested in playing Hef but can't commit because the director of record hasn't been named and the script isn't read. In the meantime, he's got other fish to fry, like Iron Man 2. Should the project materialize quickly, though, Downey could film Playboy next summer. 

I think I recall Tom Cruise being rumored for this role, which, for reasons we don't need to elucidate, would be a stretch. Downey's a much better fit in a lot of ways, although he faces one issue that Cruise faced as well: He's a little old for the part. I mean, if it's the early days of Playboy, Hef was 27 when the first issue published. Downey's 42. Would be close to 45 when the movie's released. Just a thought. Leo DiCaprio was also in the running when the project first materialized, and that may be a better pick from that standpoint, although he's clearly not going to enjoy himself as much as Downey would.