These higher-profile roles eventually led to his being cast as Charlie Chaplin in the 1992 biopic Chaplin, for which he gained an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. After Zero, Downey started landing roles in bigger films, such as Air America and Soapdish. Less Than Zero is particularly notable, not only because it was the first time Downey's acting would be acknowledged by critics, but also because the role pushed Downey's already-existing drug habit one step further. He was cast to read one of the letters in the 1987 film Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam before his rise to fame. The son of film director Robert Downey Sr., Downey made his screen debut at the age of 5 when he appeared in one of his father's films, Pound (1970), and has worked consistently in film and television ever since.ĭuring the 1980s, he was a cast member on Saturday Night Live and had roles in a series of coming-of-age films associated with the Brat Pack. (born Apin New York City, New York) is an American actor and producer. Robert Downey Jr and Deborah Falconer in 1992. They later finalised their divorce in 2004. At that stage, I didn't give a f*** whether I ever acted again," he said, according to The Guardian.Īfter being arrested a number of times in 20, Downey Jr was eventually written out of Ally McBeal.Īround that same time, the actor's wife, Falconer, left Downey Jr and took their son Indio with her. "It was my lowest point in terms of addictions. His role in the show was a hit, and Downey Jr won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a mini-series or television film.īut for the now 55-year-old, it isn't a time that he looks back on fondly. In 2000, following his release from prison, Downey Jr landed a role on television series Ally McBeal opposite Calista Flockhart. You are actually in the safest place on Earth. "There is nothing aside from a rogue correctional officer that can do you harm if you have the right cellie. "When the door clicks shut, then you are safe," he told Rolling Stone. Image: Getty.īut despite kitchen duty, prison provided a sense of security for the Iron Man star. Sarah Jessica Parker and Robert Downey Jr. I was in love with Sarah Jessica, and love clearly was not enough." She was so miffed when I didn’t get my act together. "She provided me a home and understanding. I liked to drink, and I had a drug problem, and that didn’t jibe with Sarah Jessica, because it is the furthest thing from what she is," Downey said, according to the Huffington Post. and Sarah Jessica Parker ended their relationship. In 1991, after seven years together, Downey Jr. While he'd often get clean for a few months while working on film projects, he kept slumping back into his old ways off set – often going on days-long alcohol and drug benders. In the years that followed, Downey Jr's life was an endless cycle of drug abuse. "And when he came out, he fired me for making him face it." "I couldn't stand to see him demolish himself," she later said. Growing up in New York City, Downey Jr began his acting career with a few minor roles in his father's films, before attending the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center.Īfter a brief relocation to California following his parents' divorce in 1978, Downey Jr dropped out of high school and moved back to New York in 1982 to pursue acting full time.Īfter SNL, Downey Jr went on to appear in Tuff Turf, Weird Science, and The Pick-Up Artist, leading him to be recognised as a member of Hollywood's 'Brat Pack'.īut by 1988, Downey Jr's life was becoming consumed by drug use, leading his former manager Loree Rodkin to force him into rehab. "When my dad and I would do drugs together, it was like him trying to express his love for me in the only way he knew how."Īfter he tried marijuana for the first time at a party, Downey Jr's drug use spiralled throughout his teenage years and early twenties, leading him to "spend every night out getting drunk making a thousand phone calls in pursuit of drugs". "There was a lot of pot and coke around," the actor shared, as per PEOPLE. Post continues after podcast.īorn in New York City to underground filmmaker Robert Downey Sr and actress Elsie Downey, Downey Jr was "constantly surrounded by drugs" as a child. Listen to Mamamia's daily entertainment podcast, The Spill, below. giving a little kid a toke of grass just to be funny." And suddenly I knew I had made a terrible, stupid mistake. ", 'You ought to try a little of this instead of drinking,'" Robert Downey Sr, a film director, recalled. Robert Downey Jr was just six years old when he first tried marijuana. This post discusses alcohol and drug addiction and may be triggering for some readers.
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