2 weeks Ago By Braylee Parry
Robert Downey Jr. is now one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, but he went on a rollercoaster journey to cement his status as a Hollywood legend. Born in April 1965, Downey Jr.
is the younger of two children shared by the late Robert Downey Sr. , an actor and filmmaker, and Elsie Ann Ford , an actress. Long before he became Tony Stark, Downey Jr.
made his acting debut in his father’s film Pound at the age of 5 and held a small role just a couple of years later in 1972’s Greaser’s Palace . Unfortunately, it wasn’t just acting talent that the father and son shared. The late Downey Sr.
struggled with substance abuse and let Downey Jr. try marijuana when he was just 6 years old. Downey Jr.
battled drug addiction due to growing up in a household where he claimed “everyone was doing drugs” in a 1988 interview for Karen Hardy ’s book The New Breed: Actors Coming of Age . He even said that substance abuse was something he bonded with his father over. After being fired from Ally McBeal in 2001 and given the choice of prison or rehabilitation, Downey Jr.
realized he needed to get sober and spent the next two years in rehab. He landed his first film role in The Singing Detective after getting sober and starred in Gothika where he met future wife, Susan Levin . You have successfully subscribed.
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly Check our latest news in Google News Check our latest news in Apple News The two married in 2005 and he credits her for helping him on his sobriety journey. Filming for Gothika wrapped up and Downey Jr. was tempted to relapse, but Levin gave him an ultimatum.
Something clicked for Downey Jr., because the next thing he did was stop at a Burger King on the Pacific Coast Highway and threw his drugs into the ocean. Keep scrolling to see the highlights of Downey Jr.
’s career in photos: Credit: Getty Images (2) ; Cover Images ; Universal Pictures Robert Downey Jr. Through the Years: His Iconic Roles in ‘Iron Man,’ ‘Oppenheimer’ and More Robert Downey Jr. is now one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, but he went on a rollercoaster journey to cement his status as a Hollywood legend.
Born in April 1965, Downey Jr. is the younger of two children shared by the late Robert Downey Sr. , an actor and filmmaker, and Elsie Ann Ford , an actress.
Long before he became Tony Stark, Downey Jr. made his acting debut in his father’s film Pound at the age of 5 and held a small role just a couple of years later in 1972’s Greaser’s Palace .Unfortunately, it wasn’t just acting talent that the father and son shared.
The late Downey Sr. struggled with substance abuse and let Downey Jr. try marijuana when he was just 6 years old.
Downey Jr. battled drug addiction due to growing up in a household where he claimed “everyone was doing drugs” in a 1988 interview for Karen Hardy ’s book The New Breed: Actors Coming of Age . He even said that substance abuse was something he bonded with his father over.
After being fired from Ally McBeal in 2001 and given the choice of prison or rehabilitation, Downey Jr. realized he needed to get sober and spent the next two years in rehab. He landed his first film role in The Singing Detective after getting sober and starred in Gothika where he met future wife, Susan Levin .
The two married in 2005 and he credits her for helping him on his sobriety journey. Filming for Gothika wrapped up and Downey Jr. was tempted to relapse, but Levin gave him an ultimatum.
Something clicked for Downey Jr., because the next thing he did was stop at a Burger King on the Pacific Coast Highway and threw his drugs into the ocean.Keep scrolling to see the highlights of Downey Jr.
’s career in photos: Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images 1970 to 1972 Downey Jr. made his acting debut at the age of five in his father’s 1970 film Pound and made an appearance in Greaser’s Palace in 1972. Credit: Cover Images 1978 to 1983 When his parents divorced in 1978, Downey Jr.
moved with his father to California. He dropped out of high school and moved back to New York to live with his mother four years later to pursue acting full-time and landed a role in the Off-Broadway musical American Passion . Credit: Cover Images 1985 to 1987 Downey Jr.
had his acting breakthrough in 1985’s Tuff Turf as Jimmy Parker and as Ian in Weird Science . His first lead role was in 1987 as Jack Jericho in The Pick-Up Artist . Credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images 1992 to 1993 The Johnny Be Good actor married Deborah Falconer in 1992 and welcomed son Indio the following year.
Downey Jr. earned much acclaim for his portrayal of Charlie Chaplin in 1993’s Chaplin . He received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor.
Credit: Cover Images 1994 Downey Jr. scored his first Golden Globe win in 1994. The special award was outside of the competitive categories and was given to specifically honor the ensemble cast of Short Cuts , which also included Julianne Moore , Jack Lemmon and Tim Robbins .
Credit: Cover Images 1996 to 1997 He was arrested several times between 1996 to 2000 for drug-related charges. In 1996, he was charged with possession of cocaine, heroin and an unloaded .357-caliber Magnum.
He was sentenced to three years of probation and drug testing. After missing a court-ordered drug test in 1997, Downey Jr. had to spend 113 days in a Los Angeles County jail.
Amid his struggle with addiction and the law, Falconer separated from Downey Jr. in 1996 after four years of marriage, but she didn’t file for a divorce until 2001. Their split was finalized in 2004.
Credit: Kypros/Getty Images 1999 to 2000 He missed another drug test in 1999 and was sentenced to three years at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, though he was released early in August 2000. One week later, he was cast on the hit series Ally McBeal , but he was arrested for drug use again in November. “It was just playing a game of wanting to self-soothe or stay loaded, rather than deal with the fact that things had gone off the tracks a little bit,” Downey Jr.
said in the 2022 documentary, Sr . Credit: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect 2001 Though Downey Jr. earned an Emmy nomination and won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film, he was fired from the show in April 2001.
Following his November 2000 arrest, he was found high and barefoot in April 2001. After his April arrest, the actor was ready to take recovery seriously. He entered a live-in rehabilitation center later that month.
When he faced the court the following July, he pleaded guilty to cocaine possession and was sentenced to three years probation. He was also officially ordered to attend a residential rehab for one year. Credit: Lawrence Lucier/FilmMagic 2003 to 2007 After rehab, it was difficult for studios to insure Downey given his history.
He made a return to the big screen after Mel Gibson , a close friend, paid his insurance bond for 2003’s The Singing Detective . Downey Jr. starred in Gothika (where producers held 40 percent of his salary until production wrapped as insurance) and met future wife , Susan Levin, on set.
In 2004, Downey Jr. released his debut studio album, The Futurist . He married Levin a year later and the two share children, Exton and Avri.
Downey Jr. appeared in Shane Black ’s directorial debut of Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and the 2007 thriller Zodiac . Credit: Cover Images 2008 Downey Jr.
started his journey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the title character of 2008’s Iron Man and made a cameo as Tony Stark in The Incredible Hulk . After the film's worldwide success, Downey Jr. had agreed to two Iron Man sequels as well as the first Avengers film.
Credit: Cover Images 2009 Downey Jr. starred alongside Ben Stiller , Jack Black and Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder . He earned Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for his role of Kirk Lazarus.
Credit: Cover Images 2010 Downey Jr. earned a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy as the titular character in Sherlock Holmes . He returned as Tony Stark in Iron Man 2 that same year, and founded the production company, Team Downey, with his wife.
Credit: Cover Images 2012 to 2019 Downey was regularly on the big screen as Tony Stark. Over the next seven years, he starred in The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame . His final film as Iron Man, Endgame , became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, earning more than $2.
7 billion worldwide. Credit: Universal Pictures 2023 Downey Jr. portrayed the United States Atomic Energy Commission member, Lewis Strauss , in Oppenheimer .
The film follows American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy ), who is credited for his role in the Manhattan Project during World War II. Credit: JC Olivera/Getty Images 2024 The Oppenheimer star won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for his portrayal of Rear Admiral Lewis Strauss.
In July 2024, it was announced that Downey Jr. would be returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom, which will premiere in 2026. Credit: Patrick T.
Fallon/Getty Images 2025 Downey Jr. returned to the Oscars to present the award for Best Supporting Actor — the same category he won the year before. In order to view the gallery, please allow Manage Cookies.
