Robert Downey Jr

Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965)[1] is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. Downey's career has been characterized by some early success, a period of drug-related problems and run-ins with the law, and a surge in popular and commercial success in the 2000s.[2] In 2008, Downey was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. From 2013 to 2015, he was listed by Forbes as Hollywood's highest-paid actor

At the age of five, Downey made his acting debut in his father Robert Downey Sr.'s film Pound in 1970. He subsequently worked with the Brat Pack in the teen films Weird Science (1985) and Less than Zero (1987). Downey's portrayal of Charlie Chaplin in the 1992 biopic Chaplin received a BAFTA Award. Following a stint at the Corcoran Substance Abuse Treatment Facility on drug charges, he joined the TV series Ally McBeal in 2000, and won a Golden Globe Award for the role. Downey was fired from the show in 2001 in the wake of additional drug charges. He stayed in a court-ordered drug treatment program and has maintained his sobriety since 2003.

Downey made his acting comeback in the 2003 film The Singing Detective, after Mel Gibson paid his insurance bond because completion bond companies would not insure him.[3] He went on to star in the black comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), the thriller Zodiac (2007), and the action comedy Tropic Thunder (2008). Downey gained global recognition for starring as Iron Man in ten films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Iron Man (2008), and leading up to Avengers: Endgame (2019). He has also played Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (2009), which earned him his second Golden Globe, and its sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011). Downey has also taken on dramatic parts in The Judge (2014) and Oppenheimer (2023), winning an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA Award for his portrayal of Lewis Strauss in the latter.

Early life

Robert John Downey Jr. was born on April 4, 1965, in Manhattan, New York City, the younger of two children.[4] His father, Robert Downey Sr., was a filmmaker, while his mother, Elsie Ann (née Ford), was an actress who appeared in Downey Sr.'s films.[5] Downey's father was one-half Lithuanian Jewish, one-quarter Hungarian Jewish, and one-quarter Irish descent, while Downey's mother had Scottish, German, and Swiss ancestry.[6][7][8] Downey moved often, mainly due to his father's film projects, living in places such as Woodstock, New York, London, New Mexico, California, Connecticut and Greenwich Village.[9] The family experienced both periods of near-poverty and wealth, depending on the success of the films.[10]

As a child, Downey was "surrounded by drugs".[11] His father was a drug addict and his mother was an alcoholic.[12] His father allowed him to use drugs at a young age; he said that he gave Downey marijuana for the first time at age six, and that Downey also "might have had a little coke" as a child.[13] His father later said that he regretted it.[4] Downey stated that he and his father did drugs together for the first time when he was eight, and that drug use became an emotional bond between him and his father: "When my dad and I would do drugs together, it was like him trying to express his love for me in the only way he knew how".[14][15][16]

During his childhood, Downey had minor roles in his father's films. He made his acting debut at the age of five, playing a sick puppy in the absurdist comedy film Pound (1970), and then at seven appeared in the surrealist Western film Greaser's Palace (1972).[7] He went to Stagedoor Manor, a summer acting camp in upstate New York, when he was eleven and twelve.[10] Downey's parents divorced in 1977, when he was twelve. He went and lived with his mother, in a fifth-floor walk up in New York, as she "needed" him after the divorce, while his sister went to live with their father in California.[14] After a few years Downey went to live with his father and began attending Santa Monica High School, but dropped out in 1982.[17] At the age of 17 he moved back to New York to pursue an acting career full-time.[18]

Downey worked a number of different jobs to support himself while going to auditions, including clearing tables at Central Falls restaurant, working in a shoe store, and performing as "living art" at the nightclub Area.[19][20][21] Meanwhile, Downey got a few parts in local theatre and off-Broadway productions. He got his first credited film role in the 1983 film Baby It's You, however his scenes ended up being cut.[22][23]

1983?1995: Early work and critical acclaim

Downey at the premiere of Air America in 1990

?due to the fact that his father had been giving them to him.[54]

In early 1996, after becoming increasingly concerned for Downey, Sean Penn and Dennis Quaid knocked his door down, took his keys and took him to a rehab centre in Tucson, however Downey escaped and checked himself out a few days later.[36] In June 1996, Downey was arrested for possession of heroin, cocaine, crack and an unloaded .357 Magnum handgun while he was speeding down Sunset Boulevard. A month later, while on parole, he wandered into a neighbor's home through the unlocked front door while under the influence of a controlled substance and fell asleep in one of the beds.[55][56] The family refused to press trespassing charges.[37] The tape of the neighbor's 911 call was made available online, and it became known as the "goldilocks incident".[57] In November 1996, after spending time in court ordered rehab, he received a further six-months of live-in rehab, three years' probation and was ordered to undergo compulsory drug testing.[37] In 1997, he missed one of the court-ordered drug tests and had to spend six months in the Los Angeles County jail.[58] After being released, he went into a court-ordered 120-day rehab program.[37]

Mugshot from his arrest in August 1999

?
Mugshot from his arrest in April 2001

psychiatrist and co-author of Addiction or Self-Medication: The Truth, claimed she received a letter from Downey in 1999, during his time at Corcoran II, asking for advice on his condition. She discovered that "no one had done a complete [psychiatric] evaluation [on him] ... I asked him flat out if he thought he was bipolar, and he said, 'Oh yeah. There are times I spend a lot of money and I'm hyperactive, and there are other times I'm down.'"[73]

In an article for the March 2007 issue of Esquire, Downey stated that he wanted to address "this whole thing about the bipolar" after receiving a phone call from "the Bipolar Association" asking him about being bipolar. When Downey denied he had ever said he was bipolar, the caller quoted the People article, to which Downey replied, "'No! Dr. Malibusian said [I said I was bipolar] ... ', and they go, 'Well, it's been written, so we're going to quote it.'"[74] Downey flatly denied being "depressed or manic" and said that previous attempts to diagnose him with any kind of psychiatric or mood disorder have always been skewed because "the guy I was seeing didn't know I was smokin' crack in his bathroom. You can't make a diagnosis until somebody's sober."[74]

2001?2007: Resurgence

After five years of substance abuse, arrests, rehabilitation, and relapse, Downey was ready to work toward a full recovery from drugs and return to his career. In discussing his failed attempts to control his addictive behavior in the past, Downey told Oprah Winfrey in November 2004 that "when someone says, 'I really wonder if maybe I should go to rehab?' Well, uh, you're a wreck, you just lost your job, and your wife left you. Uh, you might want to give it a shot."[75] He added that after his last arrest in April 2001, when he knew he would likely be facing another stint in prison or another form of incarceration such as court-ordered rehab, "I said, 'You know what? I don't think I can continue doing this.' And I reached out for help, and I ran with it. You can reach out for help in kind of a half-assed way and you'll get it and you won't take advantage of it. It's not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems ... what's hard is to decide to do it."[75]

Downey got his first post-rehabilitation acting job in August 2001, lip-syncing in the video for Elton John's single "I Want Love".[76] Video director Sam Taylor-Wood shot 16 takes of the video and used the last one because, according to John, Downey looked completely relaxed and "the way he underplays it is fantastic".[77] Downey was able to return to the big screen after Mel Gibson, who had been a close friend to Downey since both had co-starred in Air America, paid Downey's insurance bond for the 2003 film The Singing Detective (directed by his Back to School co-star Keith Gordon).[3] Gibson's gamble paved the way for Downey's comeback and Downey returned to mainstream films in the mid-2000s with Gothika, for which producer Joel Silver withheld 40% of Downey's salary until after production wrapped as insurance against his addictive behavior. Similar clauses became standard in his contracts throughout the 2000s.[78] Silver, who was getting closer to Downey as he dated his assistant Susan Levin (later Susan Downey), also got the actor the leading role in the comedy thriller Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the directorial debut of screenwriter Shane Black.[79]

After Gothika, Downey was cast in a number of leading and supporting roles, including well-received work in a number of semi-independent films: A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Good Night, and Good Luck, Richard Linklater's dystopian, rotoscoped A Scanner Darkly (in which Downey plays the role of a drug addict), and Steven Shainberg's fictional biographical film of Diane Arbus, Fur, in which Downey's character represented the two biggest influences on Arbus's professional life, Lisette Model and Marvin Israel.[80] Downey also received great notice for his roles in more mainstream fare such as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Disney's poorly received The Shaggy Dog.[81]

On November 23, 2004, Downey released his debut musical album, The Futurist, on Sony Classical, for which he designed the cover art and designed the track listing label on the CD with his son Indio.[82] The album received mixed reviews,[83][84] but Downey stated in 2006 that he probably will not do another album, as he felt that the energy he put into doing the album was not compensated.[85] In 2006, Downey returned to television when he did voice acting on Family Guy in the episode "The Fat Guy Strangler". Downey had previously telephoned the show's production staff and asked if he could produce or assist in an episode creation, as his son Indio is a fan of the show. The producers of the show accepted the offer and created the character of Patrick Pewterschmidt, Lois Griffin's long lost, mentally disturbed brother, for Downey.[86]

Downey signed on with publishers HarperCollins to write a memoir, which in 2006, was already being billed as a "candid look at the highs and lows of his life and career". In 2008, however, Downey returned his advance to the publishers, and canceled the book without further comment.[87] In 2007, Downey appeared in David Fincher's mystery thriller Zodiac, which was based on a true story. He played the role of San Francisco Chronicle journalist Paul Avery, who was reporting the Zodiac Killer case.[88]

2008?2019: Iron Man and further success

Downey at an event for Iron Man in 2008

?weekend and retained the number one position for its first three weekends of release. The film grossed $180 million in theaters before its release on home video on November 18, 2008. Downey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Lazarus.[106]

Opening in late April 2009 was a film Downey finished in mid-2008, The Soloist. The film was delayed from a November 2008 release by Paramount Pictures due to the studio's tight end-of-year release schedule.[107] Critics who had seen the film in 2008 were mentioning it as a possible Academy Award candidate.[108] Downey picked up an Academy Award nomination for the 2008 release year for his role in Tropic Thunder.[109]

The first role Downey accepted after Iron Man was Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie's adaptation Sherlock Holmes. Warner Bros. released it on December 25, 2009.[110] The film set several box office records in the United States for a Christmas Day release, beating the previous record-holder, 2008's Marley & Me, by nearly $10 million, and finished second to Avatar in a record-setting Christmas weekend box office. Sherlock Holmes ended up being the 8th highest-grossing film of 2009.[111][112] When Downey won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his role as Sherlock Holmes, he noted in his acceptance speech that he had prepared no remarks because "Susan Downey told me that Matt Damon was going to win so don't bother preparing a speech".[113]

?Downey speaking at the 2019 Disney Legends Awards

?Downey returned as Tony Stark in the first of two planned sequels to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, which released in May 2010. Iron Man 2 grossed over $623 million worldwide, becoming the 7th highest-grossing film of 2010.[114] Downey's other commercial film release of 2010 was the comedy road film, Due Date. The movie, co-starring Zach Galifianakis, was released in November 2010[115] and grossed over $211M worldwide, making it the 36th highest-grossing movie of 2010.[116] Downey's sole 2011 film credit was Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which opened worldwide on December 16, 2011.[117]

In 2012, Downey reprised the role of Tony Stark in The Avengers. The film received positive reviews[118] and was highly successful at the box office, becoming the third highest-grossing film of all time both in the United States and worldwide.[119] His film, the David Dobkin-directed dramedy The Judge,[120] a project co-produced by his production company Team Downey, was the opening film at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014.[121] Downey played Tony Stark again in Iron Man 3 (2013),[122] Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017),[123] Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).[123] Three of his scenes from The Avengers and Avengers: Endgame were used as archive footage in the first episode of the Disney+ series Loki.[124] Downey hosted The Age of A.I., a YouTube documentary series released in 2019.[125]

2020?present: Post-Marvel

In 2020, Downey starred in Dolittle, playing the titular character, depicted in the film as a 19th-century Welsh veterinarian who can communicate with animals. This was the second film from Team Downey. It was a box office disappointment and received negative reviews from critics, who called it "too long [and] lifeless".[126]

In 2023, Downey portrayed antagonistic bureaucrat Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. He took a pay cut to work on the film, earning $4 million in lieu of his usual $10?20 million upfront salary.[127] Downey would later describe Oppenheimer as "the best film" in which he has appeared to date.[128] The biopic and Downey's performance received critical acclaim.[129][130][131] For the role, he won a Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.[132] Also in 2023, Downey hosted the television series Downey?s Dream Cars, where he and his team converted some of Downey's cars from gas to electric.[133]

Downey next starred in a 2024 television adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen's historical satire novel The Sympathizer on HBO Max.[134] Downey Jr. will next make his Broadway debut in McNeal, from playwright Ayad Akhtar, playing a gifted novelist with a difficult family life and a potentially problematic interest in artificial intelligence. Performances will start in September at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre.[135]

Personal life

Relationships and family

Downey started dating actress Sarah Jessica Parker in 1984 after meeting her on the set of Firstborn. They were both 18 and moved in together after eight weeks of dating.[26] The couple separated eight years later in 1991 due to his drug addiction.[140]

Downey married actress and singer Deborah Falconer on May 29, 1992, after a 42-day courtship.[141] Their son was born in September 1993.[142] The strain on their marriage from Downey's repeated trips to rehab and jail finally reached a breaking point; in 2001, in the midst of Downey's last arrest and sentencing to an extended stay in rehab, Falconer left Downey and took their son with her.[141] Downey and Falconer finalized their divorce on April 26, 2004.

?Downey with wife Susan Downey at the 2010 Academy Awards

?In 2003, Downey met producer Susan Downey (née Levin), an executive vice-president of production at Joel Silver's film company, Silver Pictures, on the set of Gothika.[3] Though Susan twice turned down his romantic advances, she and Downey did quietly strike up a romance during production.[143] Despite Susan's worries that the romance would not last after the completion of shooting given that "he's an actor; I have a real job",[143] the couple's relationship continued after production wrapped on Gothika, and Downey proposed to Susan on the night before her thirtieth birthday.[143] In August 2005, the couple were married, in a Jewish ceremony, at Amagansett, New York.[144][145] A tattoo on one of his biceps reads "Suzie Q" in tribute to her.[146] The Downeys' first child, a son, was born in February 2012,[147] and their second, a daughter, was born in November 2014.[148][149][150]

Downey has been a close friend of Mel Gibson since they starred in Air America. Downey defended Gibson during the controversy surrounding The Passion of the Christ, and said "nobody's perfect" in reference to Gibson's 2006 DUI.[151] Gibson said of Downey: "He was one of the first people to call and offer the hand of friendship. He just said, 'Hey, welcome to the club. Let's go see what we can do to work on ourselves.'"[152] In October 2011, Downey was being honored at the 25th American Cinematheque Awards; Downey chose Gibson to present him with his award for his life's work and used his air time to say a few kind words about Gibson and explain why he chose him to present the award.[153]

Sobriety

Downey says he has been drug-free since July 2003[154] and credited his wife with helping him overcome his drug and alcohol habits, along with his family, therapy, meditation, twelve-step recovery programs, yoga, and the practice of Wing Chun kung fu,[35] the martial art he learned from Eric Oram, who is also a fight consultant in several of Downey's movies.[155][156] Oram was Downey's personal fight coordinator in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War.[157] In December 2015, Downey was chosen as one of 91 people to be pardoned by the Governor of California Jerry Brown, for his prior drug offences. The pardon does not erase Downey's criminal record, but it does allow him to serve on a jury.[158][159] Oram wrote a letter in support of Downey's pardon to Governor Brown.[160] When asked on The Oprah Winfrey Show how he was able to make his sobriety stick this time, Downey said: "It's really not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems. What's hard is to decide to do it."[161]

Downey Jr. with William Cheung and Eric Oram (2005)

Religious beliefs

Downey has described his religious beliefs as "Jewish Buddhist",[162] and he is reported to have consulted astrologers.[163] In the past, Downey has been interested in Christianity and the Hare Krishna movement.[162]

Political views

In a 2008 interview, Downey stated that his time in prison changed his political point of view somewhat, saying: "I have a really interesting political point of view, and it's not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you can't go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal. You can't. I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone else, but it was very, very, very educational for me and has informed my proclivities and politics ever since."[164]

However, when asked about the quote in a 2015 interview to promote Avengers: Age of Ultron, he denied that his previous statement reflected any longstanding beliefs on his part, and stated: "I wouldn't say that I'm a Republican or a liberal or a Democrat."[165]

Downey has shown support for the Democratic Party. He donated to Barack Obama's Presidential Campaign in 2012.[166] In 2014, Downey attended a fundraiser for the Democratic Party and donated to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.[167] In 2016, Downey appeared in an Internet video urging the American public to vote against Donald Trump in the then-upcoming presidential election.[168] In 2020, Downey took part in a virtual fundraiser for Joe Biden's Presidential Campaign, with fellow Avengers actors, and the vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.[169][170]

Downey serves on the board of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, a nonprofit organisation which advocates for criminal justice reform, to reduce incarceration, improve the outcomes of formerly incarcerated individuals, and build healthier communities.[171]

Environmentalism

In January 2020, during the promotions of his film Dolittle, Downey announced that he had made the decision to adopt a vegan diet, in response to the debate about the climate crisis, stating that "I'm a one-man carbon footprint nightmare colossus"[172] and believes he can do his part to contribute. Downey previously announced his opening of Footprint Coalition, an organization he launched to reduce carbon footprints around the world using advanced technology.[173] The Footprint Coalition promotes technologies that protect the environment such as French insect-farming startup Ynsect,[174] the bio-based alternative to plastic manufacturer RWDC,[175] and bamboo toilet paper manufacturer Cloud Paper.[176][177]

In January 2024, Downey stated that he was a pescetarian and had to give up his vegan diet due to low levels of vitamin B12, calcium and iron.[178] He co-authored Cool Food: Erasing Your Carbon Footprint One Bite at a Time which advocates a low-carbon plant-based diet to reduce carbon footprint.[178][179]