Robert Downey Jr.

Downey was married to singer and actress Deborah Falconer from 1992-2004. They have a son together named Indio Falconer Downey. Their marriage started to break when Downey made frequent visits to rehab and could not break off from his addictions.

From 1996-2001, Downey was arrested on various occasions on drug-related charges. He was once arrested for possession of cocaine, marijuana and heroin and on other occasion he was accused of possessing a non-licensed handgun.

Downey was sent to the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, California, on a 3 year sentence in 1999. But he was released early as his collective time in confinement on various occasions had qualified him for an early release.

Robert Downey, Jr. was born on April 4, 1965 in Manhattan, New York, to Robert Downey, Sr. and Elsie. His father is a well-known film maker, actor, writer, director and his mother was an actress. From a very young age, Downey was involved in acting.

He did his first appearance in his father’s movie ‘Pound’, in which he played the role of a puppy. Downey grew up around drugs as his father was a drug addict. He started taking marijuana at the tender age of 6.

At the age of 7, he made an appearance in the movie called ‘Greaser’s Palace’ and later went to live in England to study classical ballet. He attended the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in New York.

In 1978, at the age of 13, Downey’s parents got divorced and he went to California to live with his father. He dropped out of school in the pursuit of professional acting. He was still struggling with his drug addiction.

From 1983-1986, Downey did an off-Broadway musical ‘American Passion (1983)’ and was cast to be a part of ‘Saturday Night Live (1985)’. He also did ‘Turf Turf (1985)’, John Hughes’s sci-fi comedy ‘Weird Science (1985)’ and ‘Pretty in Pink (1986)’.

Downey did his first lead role in ‘The Pick-up Artist’ in 1987 and did ‘Less Than Zero’ in the same year, in which he played a drug-addicted rich young boy. He was started to be recognized as a member of ‘Brat Pack’.

In 1989, Downey did a romantic comedy called ‘Chances Are’, starring along with Cybill Shepherd, Ryan O’Neal and Mary Stuart Masterson. It was followed by ‘Air America (1990)’, in which he starred with Mel Gibson and ‘Soapdish (1991)’with Sally Field.

Downey did the most famous role of his lifetime in Richard Attenborough’s ‘Chaplin’ in 1992. He played the role of ‘Charlie Chaplin’ in the movie and prepared extensively for his role and won an Oscar nomination and a BAFTA Award for it.

From 1993-1999, he did commercial movies like: ‘Heart and Souls (1993)’, ‘Shortcuts (1993)’, ‘Only You (1994)’, ‘Natural Born Killers (1994)’, ‘Restoration (1995)’, ‘Richard III (1995)’, ‘Two Girls and a Guy (1998)’ and ‘Black and White (1999)’.

Downey’s ‘Chaplin’ (1992) is one of his biggest achievements until now. Richard Attenborough, the director of the movie, got him trained in many aspects that were necessary for a true portrayal of Chaplin, like, learning how to play violin, etc.

Joining the cast of American television mini-series ‘Ally McBeal’, after serving his time in the prison, in 2000, was a great professional move from Downey’s side. He won many accolades for his role in the series.

Downey’s characterization of ‘Tony Stark’ in ‘Iron Man (2008)’, ‘Iron Man 2 (2010)’ and ‘Iron Man 3 (2013), has made him into a huge blockbuster phenomena. His quirky and nonchalant personality in real life reflects in ‘Tony Stark’ which has made it so successful.