Robert Downey Jr.: I'm "one of the best" actors of my generation

Whelp, he's certainly not shy. Robert Downey Jr. -- who covers the May issue of GQ -- tells the magazine that he's one of the best actors of his generation and he's 100 percent sure that there's an Oscar in his future.

"I'm probably one of the best," said the "Iron Man" star. "But it's not that big a deal. It's not like this is the greatest swath or generation of actors that has ever come down the pike."

The Oscar-nominated actor also goes on to say that he is confident he will take home an Academy Award in his lifetime.

"That's just a fact. I, personally, would be shocked if we went to the end of the tape now and I didn't have at least one...Because it just doesn't make sense," the 48-year-old star continued. "I'm young enough, and I'm running down being occupied with these kind of genre movies, close enough. Even the next thing we're doing with [my wife, Susan Downey], I'm so confident about it. It's the best script the studio has; it's the best thing I've read in years."

He added, "Look, even if I don't get one directly, eventually they're just going to have to give me one when I get old. So no matter how you slice it, I'm getting one."

But despite being one of the best in his field, he also considers himself to be just a "normal" guy.

"Nothing pleases me more than when somebody who was awe-inspired to be working with me realizes I'm just another schmuck that they're bored of hanging out with on a set," he said. "I love that moment. I like it when that persistent illusion is smashed."

And in addition to boasting about his status, he's also not tight-lipped about his large salary (something which most actors don't reveal).

When asked whether he made roughly $50 million to appear as Iron Man in "The Avengers," he told the GQ interviewer, "Yeah."

"Isn't that crazy?" he added. "I'm what's known as 'a strategic cost.'"

Downey also believes that the he's mostly responsible for the success of the "Iron Man" films, telling the magazine, "It so came out of kind of relative obscurity as this second-tier character from the Marvel universe, and I feel I was part of making it something more."

Though it turns out, he was lucky to get cast at all. When director Jon Favreau first approached Marvel, the comic book company told him, "Under no circumstances are we prepared to hire him for any price." But Downey persisted until he got a screen test.

So apparently it's worth it to be a little bit pushy and a little bit cocky -- worth $50 million and an eventual Oscar, to be exact.