Avengers: Endgame was a movie that brought a lot of surprises for its viewers. The movie also featured the largest cast in the history of Marvel Studios, including almost every superhero it has ever built in the past decade. Among the cast of Avengers: Endgame, there were also some supporting characters that you might have missed if you didn’t pay close attention. And the one we’re talking about is Harley Keener, played by Ty Simpkins, the strange young man that appeared at Tony Stark’s funeral.

In Endgame, he had only a few seconds on screen but that was a major moment to him as an actor and a Marvel fan. It was also one of the hardest things ever for him.

Ty Simpkins Iron Man 3
Ty Simpkins as Harley Keener in Iron Man 3

In 2017, Simpkins learned the biggest secret of Marvel: Iron Man would die in Endgame. Keeping that secret for 2 years was a great challenge for the boy. “It was the hardest thing,” Simpkins said.

In 2013, Simpkins played Harley in Iron Man 3, who helped Iron Man rebuild his suit. Years later, when Simpkins was practicing lines before an audition, his manager called, saying that Marvel Studios might bring Harley back for the final movie of the Infinity Saga. His manager confirmed the news later that week, then Marvel Studios co-president called Simpkins.

“He walked me through how they get to a point where they’re fighting Thanos and then at the end Iron Man dies. So then he just told me I’m gonna be at the funeral.”

Right after the call, the actor reached out to Iron Man, aka Robert Downey Jr., telling him about how excited he was to be in the movie and how much Iron Man meant to him throughout his life.

Ty Simpkins as Harley Keener at the funeral
Ty Simpkins as Harley Keener at the funeral

Marvel has long been known to be secretive about the twists in its upcoming movies. Actors when interviewed often make jokes about “Marvel snipers” to avoid questions close to the spoiler territory.

After Endgame, Tom Holland said he was told to film Tony Stark’s wedding to keep the secret of the movie’s ending.

However, Simpkins said that most of the cast and crew members knew what would happen. The crew used the wedding as a code word with some of the cast and told people auditioning for roles that it was a wedding.

Iron Man dies in Avengers: Endgame
Iron Man dies in Avengers: Endgame

At first, keeping the secret wasn’t difficult before the release of the Infinity War film, in which Iron Man’s death was a concept that felt far off and impossible. However, the closer it was to Endgame, the harder it became not to slip out the spoiler.

“At the end there it started seeping out of me a little bit, just because we filmed that in November 2017 and it came out in 2019.”

After his brief appearance in Endgame, many Marvel fans thought Harley might be set up for a larger role later on. But Simpkins said he had not heard anything though he would love any opportunity to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

>>> BREAKING: ‘The Rock’ Dwayne Johnson And His Entire Family Tested Positive To Coronavirus