61 Facts About Robert Downey Jr

1.

Robert Downey Jr's career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of commercial success later in his career.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,183
2.

In 2008, Downey was named by Time magazine among the 100 most influential people in the world, and from 2013 to 2015, he was listed by Forbes as Hollywood's highest-paid actor.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,184
3.

Robert Downey Jr subsequently worked with the Brat Pack in the teen films Weird Science and Less than Zero.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,185
4.

In 1992, Robert Downey Jr portrayed the title character in the biopic Chaplin, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won a BAFTA Award.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,186
5.

Robert Downey Jr was fired from the show in the wake of drug charges in 2000 and 2001.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,187
6.

Robert Downey Jr stayed in a court-ordered drug treatment program and has maintained his sobriety since 2003.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,188
7.

Robert Downey Jr went on to star in the black comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the thriller Zodiac, and the action comedy Tropic Thunder ; for the latter, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,189
8.

Robert Downey Jr gained global recognition for starring as Tony Stark in ten films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Iron Man, and leading up to Avengers: Endgame.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,190
9.

Robert Downey Jr has played the title character in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, which earned him his second Golden Globe, and its sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,191
10.

Robert Downey Jr was born in Manhattan, New York City, the younger of two children.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,192
11.

Robert Downey Jr's father was of half Lithuanian Jewish, one-quarter Hungarian Jewish, and one-quarter Irish descent, while Robert Downey Jr's mother had Scottish, German, and Swiss ancestry.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,193
12.

Robert Downey Jr made his acting debut at the age of five, playing a sick puppy in the absurdist comedy Pound, and then at seven appeared in the surrealist Western Greaser's Palace.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,194
13.

Robert Downey Jr attended the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in upstate New York as a teenager.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,195
14.

When his parents divorced in 1978, Robert Downey Jr moved to California with his father, but in 1982, he dropped out of Santa Monica High School, and moved back to New York to pursue an acting career full-time.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,196
15.

Robert Downey Jr began building upon theater roles, including in the short-lived off-Broadway musical American Passion at the Joyce Theater in 1983, produced by Norman Lear.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,197
16.

Robert Downey Jr was considered for the role of Duckie in John Hughes's film Pretty in Pink, but his first lead role was with Molly Ringwald in The Pick-up Artist.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,198
17.

In 1987, Robert Downey Jr played Julian Wells, a drug-addicted rich boy whose life rapidly spirals out of his control, in the film version of the Bret Easton Ellis novel Less than Zero.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,199
18.

Robert Downey Jr had a personal coach in order to help him imitate Chaplin's posture, and a way of carrying himself.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,200
19.

Robert Downey Jr starred in the 1994 films, Only You with Marisa Tomei, and Natural Born Killers with Woody Harrelson.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,201
20.

From 1996 through 2001, Robert Downey Jr was arrested numerous times on charges related to drugs including cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,202
21.

Robert Downey Jr received three years' probation and was ordered to undergo compulsory drug testing.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,203
22.

Robert Downey Jr had been hired to provide the voice of the devil on the NBC animated television series God, the Devil and Bob, but was fired when he failed to attend rehearsals.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,204
23.

Robert Downey Jr was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,205
24.

Robert Downey Jr appeared as a writer and singer on Vonda Shepard's Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life album, and sang with Sting a duet of "Every Breath You Take" in an episode of the series.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,206
25.

Robert Downey Jr was under the influence of a controlled substance and in possession of cocaine and Valium.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,207
26.

Robert Downey Jr was arrested for suspicion of being under the influence of drugs, but was released a few hours later, even though tests showed he had cocaine in his system.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,208
27.

In July 2001, Robert Downey Jr pleaded no contest to the Palm Springs charges, avoiding jail time.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,209
28.

Robert Downey Jr got his first post-rehabilitation acting job in August 2001, lip-syncing in the video for Elton John's single "I Want Love".

FactSnippet No. 1,861,210
29.

Video director Sam Taylor-Wood shot 16 takes of the video and used the last one because, according to John, Robert Downey Jr looked completely relaxed and "The way he underplays it is fantastic".

FactSnippet No. 1,861,211
30.

Robert Downey Jr received great notice for his roles in more mainstream fare such as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Disney's poorly received The Shaggy Dog.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,212
31.

On November 23,2004, Robert Downey Jr released his debut musical album, The Futurist, on Sony Classical, for which he designed the cover art and designed the track listing label on the CD with his son Indio.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,213
32.

The album received mixed reviews, but Robert Downey Jr stated in 2006 that he probably will not do another album, as he felt that the energy he put into doing the album was not compensated.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,214
33.

In 2006, Robert Downey Jr returned to television when he did voice acting on Family Guy in the episode "The Fat Guy Strangler".

FactSnippet No. 1,861,215
34.

Robert Downey Jr had previously telephoned the show's production staff and asked if he could produce or assist in an episode creation, as his son Indio is a fan of the show.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,216
35.

Robert Downey Jr signed on with publishers HarperCollins to write a memoir, which in 2006, was already being billed as a "candid look at the highs and lows of his life and career".

FactSnippet No. 1,861,217
36.

In 2008 Robert Downey Jr returned his advance to the publishers, and canceled the book without further comment.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,218
37.

In 2007, Robert Downey Jr appeared in David Fincher's mystery thriller Zodiac, which was based on a true story.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,219
38.

Robert Downey Jr played the role of San Francisco Chronicle journalist Paul Avery, who was reporting the Zodiac Killer case.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,220
39.

That changed in 2008 when Robert Downey Jr starred in two critically and commercially successful films, Iron Man and Tropic Thunder.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,221
40.

Robert Downey Jr found a lot of his own life experience in 'Tony Stark'.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,222
41.

Robert Downey Jr first reprised the role in a small appearance as Iron Man's alter ego Tony Stark in the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, as a part of Marvel Studios' depicting the same Marvel Universe on film by providing continuity among the movies.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,223
42.

Stiller says that he and Robert Downey Jr always stayed focused on the fact that they were skewering insufferable actors, not African Americans.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,224
43.

Robert Downey Jr was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Lazarus.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,225
44.

Robert Downey Jr picked up an Academy Award nomination for the 2008 release year for his role in Tropic Thunder.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,226
45.

When Robert Downey Jr won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his role as Sherlock Holmes, he noted in his acceptance speech that he had prepared no remarks because "Susan Robert Downey Jr told me that Matt Damon was going to win so don't bother preparing a speech".

FactSnippet No. 1,861,227
46.

Robert Downey Jr returned as Tony Stark in the first of two planned sequels to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, which released in May 2010.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,228
47.

Robert Downey Jr played Tony Stark again in Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,229
48.

Robert Downey Jr will appear in the sports comedy drama film All-Star Weekend, directed by Jamie Foxx.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,230
49.

Robert Downey Jr has sung on several soundtracks for his films, including for Chaplin, Too Much Sun, Two Girls and a Guy, Friends and Lovers, The Singing Detective, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,231
50.

Robert Downey Jr released a CD in 2004 called The Futurist, and while promoting his film Tropic Thunder, he and his co-stars Ben Stiller and Jack Black were back-up singers "The Pips" to Gladys Knight singing "Midnight Train to Georgia".

FactSnippet No. 1,861,232
51.

Robert Downey Jr started dating actress Sarah Jessica Parker in 1984 after meeting her on the set of Firstborn.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,233
52.

Robert Downey Jr married actress and singer Deborah Falconer on May 29,1992, after a 42-day courtship.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,234
53.

In 2003, Robert Downey Jr met producer Susan Robert Downey Jr, an Executive Vice President of Production at Joel Silver's film company, Silver Pictures on the set of Gothika.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,235
54.

Robert Downey Jr has been a close friend of Mel Gibson since they starred in Air America.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,236
55.

Robert Downey Jr defended Gibson during the controversy surrounding The Passion of the Christ, and said "nobody's perfect" in reference to Gibson's DUI.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,237
56.

Robert Downey Jr says he has been drug-free since July 2003, and credited his wife with helping him overcome his drug and alcohol habits, along with his family, therapy, meditation, twelve-step recovery programs, yoga, and the practice of Wing Chun kung fu, the martial art he learned from Eric Oram, who is a fight consultant in several of Robert Downey Jr's movies.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,238
57.

Oram was Robert Downey Jr's personal fight coordinator in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,239
58.

In December 2015, Robert Downey Jr received a full and unconditional pardon from Governor of California Jerry Brown for his prior drug convictions.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,240
59.

Robert Downey Jr has described his religious beliefs as "Jewish Buddhist", and he is reported to have consulted astrologers.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,241
60.

In January 2020, during the promotions of his film Dolittle, Robert Downey Jr announced that he had made the decision to adopt a vegan diet, in response to the debate about the climate crisis, stating that "I'm a one-man carbon footprint nightmare colossus" and believes he can do his part to contribute.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,242
61.

Robert Downey Jr previously announced his opening of The Footprint Coalition, an organization he launched to reduce carbon footprints around the world using advanced technology.

FactSnippet No. 1,861,243