Robert Downey Jr. is one of Hollywood's most beloved movie stars.
With a career spanning five decades, the Iron Man star is known both for his impressive
body of work as well as his triumph over substance abuse, but there's still more to learn.
Unconventional upbringing
Robert Downey Jr. grew up at the center of the 1970s avant-garde scene with two eclectic
parents who struggled with drug and alcohol addiction: writer and actress Elsie Ford and
filmmaker father Robert Downey Sr.
The future star caught the acting bug at the age of 5 when he made his on-screen debut
in his dad's movie, Pound.
The arts were such a major part of Downey Jr.'s admittedly unusual upbringing that becoming
an actor felt like a no-brainer, as he explained to Sam Jones during a 2016 interview:
"I don't know if I ever really had that thought that this is what I'm going to do.
It never occurred to me to do anything else.
And it just kind of, you know, life happens."
High school dropout
While frequently moving around for his parents' various projects, Robert Downey Jr. learned
his craft in a number of major cities.
Downey studied ballet in London, trained in acting at NYC's Stagedoor Manor Performing
Arts Training Center, and performed in high school theater productions in Santa Monica,
California.
With showbiz running in his blood, it only made sense that Downey would eventually pursue
an acting career.
However, success came neither quickly nor easily to the up-and-coming talent, who lived
as a struggling artist in the early '80s.
Downey revealed on the Graham Norton Show that he knows exactly how hard the hustle
is for working actors in the big city, saying:
"I told all my friends that I was going to be hugely successful… and that if they needed
me, I'd be bussing tables at the restaurant down the street."
One SNL season
Comedy nerds most likely know that the 11th season of Saturday Night Live totally bombed
in the mid-'80s, but not everyone realizes that Robert Downey Jr. was part of that ill-fated
cast.
Thirty years later, Rolling Stone placed him dead last in a ranking of the sketch comedy
series' cast members, noting that he, quote, "spent the 1985-1986 season sucking up a storm."
While the entire cast's chemistry during that year seemed pretty non-existent, Downey’s
fate was clearly written on the wall, and the actor was ultimately among those fired
at the end of the season.
Less Than Zero
Following his failed attempt in TV, Robert Downey Jr. found success on the big screen
with notable performances in Rodney Dangerfield's Back to School and Brat Pack movies such as
Weird Science and The Pick-up Artist.
However, his heartbreaking and nuanced portrayal of drug addict Julian Wells in 1987's Less
than Zero is what eventually put him on the map.
The film won Downey critical acclaim, but the role exacerbated his own lifelong struggle
with addiction.
In 2003, Downey revealed to The Guardian:
"The character was an exaggeration of myself.
Then things changed and, in some ways, I became an exaggeration of the character.
That lasted far longer than it needed to last."
The movie star's notorious drug abuse battle would spiral into multiple rehab stints and
time in prison.
Downey finally kicked the habit for good in July 2003.
Sarah Jessica Parker’s ex
During the late '80s, Downey was romantically linked with another up-and-coming star: Sex
and the City alum Sarah Jessica Parker.
The former couple got together after meeting on the set of the 1984 drama Firstborn but
called it quits in 1991 over the actor's worsening drug addiction.
In a 2016 interview, the Marvel star confessed to Howard Stern:
"We were at a very conservative relationship concerning the fact that she was normal and
I was out of my mind.
I did the best I could."
Not long after their breakup, Downey tied the knot with actress-singer Deborah Falconer
following a 42-day courtship in 1992.
The couple welcomed their son Indio a year later before separating and later finalizing
their divorce in 2004.
Around that time, Downey found love again with producer Susan Levin, whom he met while
filming Gothika in 2003.
The pair got hitched two years later, and have since welcomed son Exton and daughter
Avri.
To this day, Downey credits his wife for his sobriety.
Eastern philosophy
During his recovery from addiction, Robert Downey Jr. began studying Eastern philosophy,
practicing meditation, and learning Wing Chun Kung Fu, a form of self-defense made famous,
in part, by Bruce Lee.
These physical and spiritual practices obviously came in handy during fight sequences as both
Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes, but they also offered the embattled actor a renewed outlook
on life, as well as a sense of stability while keeping his demons at bay.
In 2004, Downey opened up to Oprah Winfrey about the positive impact Wing Chun had on
his life, saying:
"[Wing Chun] gives you a sense of comfort and self-defense.
It improves your focus.
It just does so many things.
It makes you feel you're a part of something you respect."
He later told Men's Journal:
"This is all about focus.
Wing Chun teaches you what to concentrate on, whether you're here or out in the world
dealing with problems.
It's second nature for me now.
I don't even get to the point where there's a problem."
A big Chris Evans fan
The sky is blue.
Water is wet.
And Robert Downey Jr. loves his Marvel co-star Chris Evans as much as everyone else does.
Downey opened up about his love for Evans during a 2019 interview with The Hollywood
Reporter, saying:
"At the root of it, he has true humility.
People love to say… that I'm kind of the progenitor of this whole [Avengers] universe.
But if you want to talk about it in terms of team building, and you want to talk about
it as the most successful creative relay race in the history of cinema, he was the critical
leg."
But does Evans feel the same way?
"Are you guys really friends in real life, or...?"
"Hate him.
Can't stand the guy.
But you're buying it, aren't ya?
No, yeah, we're good friends."
Captain America is definitely a fan of Iron Man in real life.
When asked who he'd consider to be his mentor at the 2018 ACE Comic Con, Evans said:
"It's low-hanging fruit to say Downey.
He's such a wonderful guy and is so talented, so experienced, and so supportive.
He really just opens his arms.
And it sounds so cheesy, but he makes it a family and none of this would happen without
him."
An aspiring singer
Robert Downey Jr. isn't just world-renowned actor who perfectly lip-synched an entire
Elton John tune in one take, he also has a killer set of pipes himself.
This multi-hyphenate has jammed onstage with the likes of Sting and Jamie Foxx, and even
released his first album, The Futurist, in 2004.
Downey had mixed feelings about his debut musical effort, which featured eight tracks
penned by the man himself and an understated cover of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile."
The actor told The New York Times:
"Clearly, I have some hesitation in being an actor who puts out an album.
No way would I ever get to express myself musically if I wasn't an actor of ill repute…
So yeah, I'm a little bit uncomfortable about it."
Unfortunately, the soulful singer-songwriter's only record was neither a critical nor commercial
hit, receiving mixed reviews and peaking at just number 121 on the Billboard 200 chart.
He's a quiet activist
Robert Downey Jr. may not be as known for outspoken political activism as Avengers co-star
Mark Ruffalo, but he actually spends a lot of time and energy outside of Tinseltown performing
philanthropic work.
In addition to visiting kids while in character as Tony Stark, he and wife Susan Downey launched
their Random Act Funding foundation in collaboration with Omaze in 2016, which Downey described
as a "foundation dedicated to distributing kindness in the form of financial support":
"Each year we're gonna band together, select a few organizations that are really changing
the world, and then, just like we did with Julia's House, we’re gonna grant them funds
to achieve amazing things."
This sense of helping others is something Downey has related to the Marvel Cinematic
Universe’s socio-political impact.
While giving a heartfelt speech at the Avengers: Infinity War premiere in 2018, he said:
"[Fame is] meaningless, unless you use that to achieve something higher."
RDJ or Tony Stark?
The first Iron Man film became the surprise hit of 2008, kicking off the juggernaut that
is the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
A star was reborn, the late Marvel co-creator Stan Lee reportedly felt Downey was "born
to be" Tony Stark.
After all, the actor's on-screen ego has been increasingly compared to his sardonic, hilarious,
always-charming public persona.
"I've always felt like you can learn a lot about a man if you open up his jewelry box."
Perhaps the self-proclaimed "Mayor of Comic-Con" explained this common misconception best when
he participated in an "Ask Me Anything" forum with fans on Reddit in 2014.
Downey wrote:
"The first Iron Man was essentially wrapping the character around a cooler version of 'me'.
As we've gone along, I'm starting to wonder who's playing who…
Ultimately, I'm real, and he's not.
It's kind of important for me to remember that."
"I’m just not the hero type, clearly."
No Oscar… yet
Robert Downey Jr. solidified his standing as one of the greatest actors of his generation
in 1992 with his starring turn in Chaplin, which turned him into a household name and
scored him an Oscar nomination for best actor.
He would later go on to nab a second nod for best supporting actor for 2008's Tropic Thunder.
However, despite his critical acclaim and popularity, Downey has never taken home an
Academy Award, at least, not yet.
But don’t worry, this Golden Globe winner isn't too worried about the Oscars snub. Downey
told GQ in 2013:
"I, personally, would be shocked if we went to the end of the tape now and I didn't have
at least one.
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."
Hey, he's probably not wrong, but it should be noted that Downey doesn't actually subscribe
to the whole "one of the greatest actors of his generation" thing.
He later told GQ:
"I mean, all this stuff is largely chance."
BTS with Team Downey
Fans are no doubt wondering what's next for this leading man.
In April 2019, Downey had a number of projects lined up for the future, including a highly
anticipated return to his 19th-century London alter ego in Sherlock Holmes 3.
The actor has also taken a major behind-the-scenes turn through Team Downey, a production company
he and wife Susan Downey started in 2010.
Since kicking things off with The Judge in 2014, Team Downey has announced more than
20 upcoming projects, including HBO's limited series remake of Perry Mason.
In 2014, Downey told CBC News that while he loves playing fast-talking, snarky characters,
he's far more interested in making genuine connections with other people:
"I think the older I get, though, the less need I feel to eat up all the oxygen in the
room."
In 2019, Downey vaguely hinted at what the future might hold in an interview with Inquirer.net,
saying:
"I have a wide variety of interests.
There are certain things I've put on hold for a while that I'm looking forward to getting
back to."
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