Hey, guys!
It’s Samantha!
From early struggles to being an on-screen hero and family man, this is the truth about
Robert Downey Jr.!
14.
Early Years
Robert Downey Jr. was born in New York in April 1965.
His father, Robert Downey Sr., was a filmmaker and actor… so, it might not be too surprising
that his son ended up following the same path.
His mom, Elsie Ann, was also in the acting field and appeared in many of her husband’s
movies.
Downey Jr. has an older sister as well, named Allyson.
When he was a kid, he played many parts in his dad’s films, and his first role was
that of an ill puppy in the feature Pound when he was just five years old.
Downey Jr. studied the performing arts at Stagedoor Manor in New York when he was in
his teens.
Then, his parents got a divorce in 1978, and he moved with his father to California.
However, he only stayed there for about four years.
He proceeded to drop out of high school and move back to the Big Apple in the early 1980s
to pursue acting.
13.
Arrests
Whether you’re a Robert Downey Jr. fan or not, you’ve probably heard about the difficulties
he faced throughout his life… some of which ended in arrests.
From the mid-1960s through 2001, he was locked up several times for substance-related charges.
One time was in 1999; he missed a legally required appointment and was thrown behind
bars.
Although his lawyer, John Stewart Holden, gathered the team that had defended O.J. Simpson,
Downey Jr. was still sentenced to three years at the Corcoran, California Substance Abuse
Treatment Facility and State Prison.
He lost one job because of this since he couldn’t show up to rehearsals, and he had other films
that were set to release around the same time… giving them a bit of a bad reputation.
However, he was let go after posting a five thousand dollar bail a year later.
But, he was arrested again in November 2000 and another time in 2001 when he was on parole.
After the latter, Downey Jr. was fired from the show Ally McBeal and lost his role in
the movie America’s Sweethearts.
12.
Ballet
Something you probably didn’t know about this talented actor is that he used to take
ballet classes when he was a child.
When he was living in England at ten years old, he was trained in the dance style at
the Perry House School in Chelsea, London.
However, it’s safe to say Downey Jr. never became a ballet dancer.
He even noted that he was always horsing around during class instead of practicing the different
moves.
He stated later on, “I don’t want to say I did anything correctly at Perry House because
the truth is that I spent my whole time there with my nose in the corner, being a moron…
But yes, part of the studies there required boys and girls did ballet.”
11.
Problems
We already discussed some of Robert Downey Jr.’s arrests throughout his early career.
However, he was struggling with dependency problems for a long time before that.
When he was just six years old his father introduced him to various substances, and
Downey Jr. stated later on, “When my dad and I would do [these things] together, it
was like him trying to express his love for me in the only way he knew how.”
But, things quickly turned sour for young Robert as he developed an addiction.
This problem is what led to his various arrests.
In addition to spending a year in the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State
Prison he was sent to another rehab center; but, after about five years of legal troubles,
rehab, and relapses, he began working even harder to overcome his issues and get back
into acting.
Downey Jr. told Oprah in 2004, “...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...I reached out for help, and I ran with it.
You can reach out for help in kind of [an offhand] 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.”
Although some people, including his stepmother and a doctor named Malibusian, believed he
had bipolar disorder contributing to his struggles, he denied it.
He said, “No! [the doctor] said [that I said I was bipolar]...[but]...You can’t
make a diagnosis until somebody’s sober.”
10.
SNL
Many people either don’t know or have probably forgotten that Robert Downey Jr. used to be
a Saturday Night Live cast member.
In 1985, he was hired on as one of the younger members.
However, he was shortly dropped from the show because they were receiving negative reviews
and a lot of criticism.
It seems that the general population didn’t find the young Downey Jr. to be very funny.
Rolling Stone even labeled him as the worst member of the entire group; they wrote, “Making
[Downey Jr.] unfunny stands as SNL’s most towering achievement in terms of sucking…
He’s funny in anything…
But he met his Kryptonite, and it was SNL, where he spent the 1985-1986 season sucking
up a storm.”
It’s safe to say that this type of improv comedy wasn’t Robert’s forte.
9.
Kiefer Sutherland
Another interesting fact about Robert Downey Jr. is that he was good friends with a fellow
actor back in the 1980s.
For three years, when he first moved to Hollywood, Downey Jr. was shacking up with Kiefer Sutherland.
They also filmed the movie 1969 together, which came out in 1988.
But, during this time, Robert was dating Sarah Jessica Parker, and they were going through
some difficult times.
He admits he wasn’t the best boyfriend in the world; so, Sarah would go to Kiefer for
comfort.
During an interview with Howard Stern, Downey Jr. states, “[Kiefer] was a shoulder [for
Sarah Jessica to cry on]... [and] better him than some stranger.”
8.
First Films
We discussed previously that Robert Downey Jr. began acting at a young age.
But, he gained more recognition in the 1980s.
He starred in several coming-of-age movies, which earned him a spot in the Brat Pack,
a nickname given to a band of youthful actors and actresses that played in these kinds of
films together.
One of the movies was The Pick-up Artist, which he starred in with Molly Ringwald in
1987.
He also played in the 1985 film Tuff Turf, which follows the story of a kid that’s
new to a school and tries to steal a young gang leader’s girlfriend.
Another 1985 feature he played in was Weird Science, which is about two geeks in high
school that work to make a woman using their computer; her purpose is to increase their
confidence and make them more manly.
Other films he played in from around this time include Back To School, Less Than Zero,
and Johnny Be Good.
7.
The Futurist
Something else you might not know about this star is that he’s multi-talented.
He used to sing while he was on Ally McBeal; but, in 2004, he released his first, and only,
studio album titled The Futurist.
It sold sixteen thousand copies the first week it was out and debuted at one hundred
twenty-one on the Billboard 200.
Some of the songs on the record are “Man Like Me,” “Broken,” “Your Move,”
and “Smile.”
But, Robert noted he wouldn’t make another album because he felt under-compensated regarding
the energy he spent making it, and he would rather spend time with his family than in
the studio; so far, there is no news of another musical work in the making.
However, in 2011, one of the actor’s favorite artists and friends, Sting, invited him on
stage to sing the song “Driven To Tears” alongside him.
Downey Jr. later told Howard Stern, “When I was in my mid-20s, I decided I was one of
the greatest songwriters of all-time…
I went to one of Sting’s shows… and I started trying to push my cassette tape in
his hand…[his wife] Trudie was there and recognized me… and was like, ‘Hello, thanks
for coming to the show.’
Totally handled me...Literally, it was a psychotic move.”
He added that, after he and the rockstar’s friendship blossomed, “...about 25 years
later, Trudie goes, ‘Robert, we were going through some of these old boxes and look what
we found, would you like this cassette tape back?’...
And I said, ‘Gimme that tape back!’” Downey Jr. also noted that when Sting asked
him to sing on stage, he put him through the ringer to make sure he did a good job.
Afterward, Robert reportedly received a call from the artist letting him know he did well.
6.
Comeback
Once he decided to get his life straightened out, Robert Downey Jr. began acting again
in Elton John’s video for the song “I Want Love.”
He then got the lead role as Dan Dark in the movie The Singing Detective after his friend,
Mel Gibson, paid the insurance bond.
Downey Jr. went on to star in Gothika as well with Halle Berry, as the character Pete Graham.
The producer of this film kept forty percent of Robert’s salary until post-production
for protection considering the actor’s previous lifestyle.
In 2005, he played Harry Lockhart in the movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
Downey Jr. went on to take parts in many other films after that, including The Shaggy Dog,
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, Lucky You, Tropic Thunder, and the Sherlock
Holmes series.
5.
Net Worth
Although he faced numerous hardships throughout his life, there’s no denying that Robert
Downey Jr. has truly made a name for himself as one of Hollywood’s best actors.
So, it shouldn’t be shocking that he is worth a lot of money.
According to Forbes, his paycheck has gone down a little, and he made about forty-eight
million dollars since around June of 2017… not that it’s a small amount of money.
But, his net worth, according to various sites is probably around three hundred million.
Not bad, Downey, not bad at all.
4.
Iron Man
Perhaps Robert Downey Jr. is best known for his portrayal of Iron Man in numerous Marvel
films.
In 2007, he was chosen for the title role in Iron Man, for which he had to pack on about
twenty pounds of muscle.
When it was released worldwide in mid-2008, it pulled in a total of over five hundred
eighty-five million dollars.
After the movie’s and Robert’s tremendous success, he starred in Iron Man 2, Iron Man
3, and The Avengers.
He also played Tony Stark, Iron Man’s alter ego, in The Incredible Hulk in 2008.
He continued portraying the character in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War,
Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Avengers: Infinity War.
3.
Awards
Robert Downey Jr. has also won numerous awards for his work.
He has taken home three Golden Globes, three Saturn Awards, two Golden Schmoes, and four
People’s Choice Awards.
He has also been nominated for two Oscars for 1992’s Chaplin and 2008’s Tropic Thunder.
He has yet to win one of the coveted awards; but, he stated 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 [Oscar]...I’m
young enough…
Even the next thing [me and my wife are] doing… it’s the best script the studio has…
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.”
That’s the spirit, Robert!
Stick in there.
2.
Past Relationships
Robert Downey Jr. is a happily married man now, but before he met his current wife, he
had a few other love interests.
We briefly mentioned his ex-girlfriend, Sarah Jessica Parker.
They met during the filming of Firstborn and began dating.
However, despite Parker’s attempts to keep their relationship together, it fell apart
due to Downey Jr.’s struggles at the time.
In 1992, he married Deborah Falconer, a former actress and musician.
The two had their Indio together in 1993.
Unfortunately, their relationship came to an end for the same reason, and their divorce
was finalized in 2004.
Indio has faced some trouble with substance use himself but overcame his hardships after
being arrested.
Robert stated about his son, “Congrats are in order for my firstborn, and I’m proud
to oblige…
Having braved the crucible of addiction (and pleased the court), his ongoing commitment
to recovery continues to inspire and amaze.”
1.
Wife and Kids
Despite Robert’s hardships with previous relationships and personal struggles, he met
Susan Levin in 2003, which helped turn his life around.
She used to work as Executive Vice President of Production at Silver Pictures and met Downey
Jr. during the filming of Gothika.
They began seeing each other soon after meeting, even though Levin turned him down twice.
She was worried that their romance wouldn’t work out, but their relationship prevailed
to her delight.
Robert popped the question to Susan right before she turned thirty, and they tied the
knot in August 2005.
They have two kids together, Exton and Avri.
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