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.
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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.
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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.
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Robert Downey Jr subsequently worked with the Brat Pack in the teen films Weird Science and Less than Zero.
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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.
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Robert Downey Jr was fired from the show in the wake of drug charges in 2000 and 2001.
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Robert Downey Jr stayed in a court-ordered drug treatment program and has maintained his sobriety since 2003.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Robert Downey Jr was born in Manhattan, New York City, the younger of two children.
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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.
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Robert Downey Jr attended the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in upstate New York as a teenager.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Robert Downey Jr had a personal coach in order to help him imitate Chaplin's posture, and a way of carrying himself.
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Robert Downey Jr starred in the 1994 films, Only You with Marisa Tomei, and Natural Born Killers with Woody Harrelson.
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From 1996 through 2001, Robert Downey Jr was arrested numerous times on charges related to drugs including cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.
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Robert Downey Jr received three years' probation and was ordered to undergo compulsory drug testing.
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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.
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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.
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Robert Downey Jr was under the influence of a controlled substance and in possession of cocaine and Valium.
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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.
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In July 2001, Robert Downey Jr pleaded no contest to the Palm Springs charges, avoiding jail time.
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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".
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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".
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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.
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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.
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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.
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In 2006, Robert Downey Jr returned to television when he did voice acting on Family Guy in the episode "The Fat Guy Strangler".
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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.
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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".
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In 2008 Robert Downey Jr returned his advance to the publishers, and canceled the book without further comment.
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In 2007, Robert Downey Jr appeared in David Fincher's mystery thriller Zodiac, which was based on a true story.
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Robert Downey Jr played the role of San Francisco Chronicle journalist Paul Avery, who was reporting the Zodiac Killer case.
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That changed in 2008 when Robert Downey Jr starred in two critically and commercially successful films, Iron Man and Tropic Thunder.
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Robert Downey Jr found a lot of his own life experience in 'Tony Stark'.
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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.
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Stiller says that he and Robert Downey Jr always stayed focused on the fact that they were skewering insufferable actors, not African Americans.
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Robert Downey Jr was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Lazarus.
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Robert Downey Jr picked up an Academy Award nomination for the 2008 release year for his role in Tropic Thunder.
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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".
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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.
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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.
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Robert Downey Jr will appear in the sports comedy drama film All-Star Weekend, directed by Jamie Foxx.
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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".
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Robert Downey Jr started dating actress Sarah Jessica Parker in 1984 after meeting her on the set of Firstborn.
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Robert Downey Jr married actress and singer Deborah Falconer on May 29,1992, after a 42-day courtship.
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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.
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Robert Downey Jr has been a close friend of Mel Gibson since they starred in Air America.
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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.
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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.
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Oram was Robert Downey Jr's personal fight coordinator in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War.
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In December 2015, Robert Downey Jr received a full and unconditional pardon from Governor of California Jerry Brown for his prior drug convictions.
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Robert Downey Jr has described his religious beliefs as "Jewish Buddhist", and he is reported to have consulted astrologers.
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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.
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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.
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