Robert Downey Jr.

January 22, 1:32 PMCelebrity Profile ExaminerAndy Williamson

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Celebrity Profile Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.

In Hollywood, there are many second acts (not to mention third, fourth, fifith, etc ...)  The town is pretty forgiving of even the most heinous acts.  No one knows this better than Robert Downey Jr.  Loosely associated with the notorious (or so they longed to be) Brat Pack of the 1980s, Robert is arguably the most talented and successful (both artistically and financially) of that motley group.  He has also had the most controversial run-ins with the law, after a period of heavy drug use in the late 1990s had him in and out of rehab and prison.  He is probably best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Charlie Chaplin (1992) and his amazing career revival in 2008, playing the Marvel comic book hero Iron Man.

Robert Downey Jr. was born on April 4th, 1965 in New York City, to actor, writer, producer, cinematographer, and director of underground films, Robert Downey Sr. (duh).  His mother, Elsie, is also an actress.  Robert Jr. was thrust into show business before he even knew what it was -- he grew up in Greenwich Village, appearing as a very young boy in a number of his father’s films.  In his adolescent years, he attended the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center.  Later, after his parents divorced in 1978, Robert moved with his father to California -- though four years later he would drop out of high school (not long before graduating) and move back to NYC to pursue acting full time.

In 1985, after a couple of small roles in forgettable fare like Up the Academy and Baby It’s You, Robert was signed as one of the cast members of Saturday Night Live.  His tenure only lasted one year before he left to try his hand again at film acting.  Roles in films like Tuff Turf, Weird Science, Back To School, and The Pick-Up Artist brought him exposure -- as well as the aforementioned Brat Pack label.  (I think, however, that it takes more than associations with James Spader, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, and director John Hughes to be an official member of the Brat Pack.  One must have either caroused with Judd Nelson, groped teenage girls with Rob Lowe, sabotaged his career, or appeared in St. Elmo’s Fire to be stuck with that nomenclature.  Robert would, of course, make up for all of these self-destructive oversights years later ... and all on his own.)

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.

In 1987, appearing again with James Spader in the film version of Brett Easton Ellis’ novel Less Than Zero, Robert played a drug-addicted rich boy whom he later referred to as "the Ghost of Christmas Future” -- the role exasperated an already growing drug habit, which would, in years to come, obviously have severe consequences.

After a couple of flops, Air America with Mel Gibson, and the ensemble comedy Soapdish, Robert was cast by director RIchard Attenborough to play the (uncastable) lead in his 1992 biopic of the legendary Charlie Chaplin.  Robert’s portrayal of this cinematic giant was absolutely brilliant -- not only did he look the part spot on (especially in his Little Tramp guise), but he nailed the nuances of Chaplin’s physical comedy, the slightly effeminate gait of the man in real life, and the poignant sadness ever-present in his eyes.  Robert was deservedly nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award (he lost to Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman) -- he also recorded an album soon after, where he covered Chaplin’s own Smile.

After the incredible boost brought him by Chaplin, Robert next appeared in a number of films that displayed his range and charisma.  Notable among them: Heart and Souls, Short Cuts, Natural Born Killers, Only You, Home For The Holidays, Restoration and Two Girls and a Guy.

After these, Robert started a downward spiral of increasingly bizarre behavior related to his increasingly conspicuous consumption of cocaine and heroin.  Arrested on drug charges several times between 1996 and 2001, and also after numerous unsuccessful stints at rehab facilities, Robert told a judge in 1999: "It's like I have a loaded gun in my mouth and my finger's on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gunmetal."

AS TONY STARK IN IRON MAN - 2008

After his last arrest in 2001, after Robert did indeed do some hard prison time, he finally got off the (not-so) merry-go-round of substance abuse, arrest, rehab, and relapse.  Unable to get bonded for film work because of his behavior, old pal Mel Gibson paid for his insurance in 2003’s The Singing Detective.  In subsequent films, up to 40% of Robert’s salary would be withheld until filming was complete as “insurance.”

Films made after this include: Gothika, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints, Good Night and Good Luck, A Scanner Darkly, and Fur.  In 2005, Robert received great reviews for his role as criminal Harry Lockhart  in Lethal Weapon screenwriter Shane Black’s waaaaaaay underrated directorial debut, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.  After appearing in Disney’s critically-bashed remake of The Shaggy Dog, Robert went on to costar in David Fincher’s Zodiac -- the fact-based film was chilling, and Robert was somehow convincing in his role as a drugged-out reporter.

In 2008, director Jon Favreau fought to cast Robert as the title character in Marvel Comics’ Iron Man.  The rest, as they say, is history.  The film went on to make nearly $582 million dollars worldwide, and has already spawned a number of in-development sequels, including Iron Man 2 & 3, and The Avengers.

Robert next appeared in Ben Stiller's ensemble comedy Tropic Thunder, where he played self-absorbed method actor, Kirk Lazarus -- a performer so committed to his craft that he undergoes a "controversial skin pigmentation procedure" to play African-American platoon sergeant Lincoln Osiris.  Robert not only stole the film, he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.  He also starred in the 2009 drama The Soloist with Jamie Foxx.

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. AS SHERLOCK HOLMES

When Harry Smith of CBS's The Early Show asked who his model was for Lazarus, Robert laughingly responded, "Sadly, my sorry-ass self."

Robert was married to actress Deborah Falconer from May 1992 - April 2004 -- they have a son, Indio.  He married his current wife, Susan, in 2005, after meeting her on the set of 2003’s Gothika.

Up next for Robert (other than those Iron Man sequels): Sherlock Holmes and Master MInd.

It’s great to have you back Robert -- you were gone too long.

Robert Downey Jr. Quotes:

“I've always felt like such an outsider in this industry.  Because I'm so insane, I guess.”

“I'm not used to feeling like I belong where I am.”

“I've become a picky little bitch.  I've never bothered to plan projects before.  I just used to throw the script across the room and say, ‘Why do they keep sending me this horses**t?’  And then I'd start rehearsals two weeks later.

“The great thing about Saturday Night Live was being at 30 Rockefeller Center.  And having Belushi and Aykroyd's old office.  And me and [Anthony Michael Hall] saying, ‘We want bunk beds.  With NFL Sheets.  And we want them now.’  And Michael was like ‘Man, it's gonna be great, we're gonna be buddies, we're gonna do a show together ...’  As for me, I was doing Back to School and Saturday Night Live at the same time.  So I'd fly back to Los Angeles for a couple of days during the week to shoot the movie and then fly back and, ‘Live from New York, it's a tired young man!’ “

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. AND WIFE SUSAN

Regarding the film, Restoration: “I just thought Hugh Grant was a dick, that's all.  And I still do.  ... That could be something that has to do with me, or it could just be that not everyone in this industry is someone I'd care to hang out with."

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. IN CHAPLIN - 1992

Regarding Chaplin: “Chaplin was the culmination of an opportunity, and the biggest humiliation I've ever experienced.  It was like winning the lottery, then going to prison.  I realized that nothing that had worked for me before was going to work here.  I'd watch one of Charlie's films, but by the end of it I was wildly depressed, because I realized that what he'd done in this twenty-minute short was more expressive and funnier than everything I've thought about doing my whole life.  ... When I accepted the part, they didn't tell me that I also had to do the acrobatic stuff of Charlie.  That has cost me a lot of blood, sweat and tears.   Though I now can say, 'I did all my stunts myself.'  Working on Chaplin was really intensive and cost me years of my life, but if I could do it all over again, no doubt I would do it the same way.”

Regarding Iron Man 2: “I've never been in a sequel and it's very daunting because I feel the expectation of the millions of people who watched it and enjoyed it and told me that it was a little different than your usual genre picture and that they expected us to not screw it up.  So I actually have taken Iron Man 2 probably more seriously than any movie I've ever done, which is appropriately ridiculous for Hollywood.”