He’s best known for playing the narcissistic Tony Stark in Marvel’s hit franchise, Iron Man.

But Robert Downey Jr, 50, showed a more caring side to his personality while spending some quality time with his son Exton, three, in Venice Beach, California, on Sunday.

The doting dad fed his son ice cream in the warm autumn sunshine – and it appeared to go down a treat as Exton took a hearty bite of the sweet snack.

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That’s my boy: Robert Downey Jr, 50,  treated his son Exton, three, to ice cream while the pair spent time together in Venice Beach, California, on Sunday

Robert couldn’t be missed in an eye-catching retro red and white California Dreaming motif t-shirt.

The actor tied a black jumper in a preppy style around his neck and dressed down in baggy black jogging bottoms.

A pair of black and white high-tops completed his ensemble and the star accessorised with a trendy pair of clear rimmed shades.

Exton’s outfit was even more colourful. The youngster wore a bright red Ralph Lauren long-sleeve top with multi-coloured check trousers and matched his dad in the footwear department.

Colourful: Robert couldn’t be missed in an eye-catching retro red and white California Dreaming t-shirt. The actor tied a black jumper in a preppy style around his neck and dressed down in baggy black jogging bottoms

Clearly relishing his time on daddy duty, Robert held his son’s hand while the pair coolly stood deciding what to do next.

The father-of-three has topped the Forbes highest paid actor list for the last three years, raking in a huge $77million in the last year.

His total is considerably higher than the actor ranked second, Hong Kong-𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 martial arts star Jackie Chan, who pulled in $48million from his action films.

In third place was Vin Diesel who earned $45million thanks to the success of the Fast and The Furious franchise.

Big daddy: Clearly relishing his time on dad duty, Robert held his son’s hand while the pair stood deciding what to do next

His meteoric rise to the top of the rankings is largely down the success of the Iron Man franchise which catapulted Downey Jr into a global superstar, aided by appearances in Marvel’s The Avengers film.

And fans don’t have long to wait until Tony Stark returns to the big screen. The playboy entrepreneur is due to appear in the third Captain America film, Captain America: Civil War, in cinemas next year.

Back in September, the star celebrated his ten-year wedding anniversary with his film producer wife, Susan Levin.