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{{short description|American actor (born 1965)}}{{redirect|RDJ}}{{pp-blp|small=yes}}{{Good article}}{{Use American English|date=July 2023}}{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}

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| birth_place = New York City, U.S.Actor|producer}}| years_active = 1970–presentRobert Downey Jr. filmography>FilmographyDeborah FalconerApril 26, 2004|reason=divorced}}Susan Downey>August 2005}}}}| partner = Sarah Jessica Parker (1984–1991)| children = 3| father = Robert Downey Sr.List of awards and nominations received by Robert Downey Jr.>Full list| signature = Robert Downey Jr.’s signature.svg}}Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965)WEB, Robert Downey Jr. Biography,www.biography.com/people/robert-downey-jr-9542052#awesm=~oCxqtKtfHvhoGj, The Biography Channel, April 26, 2014,www.biography.com/people/robert-downey-jr-9542052#awesm=~oCxqtKtfHvhoGj," title="web.archive.org/web/20161115153523www.biography.com/people/robert-downey-jr-9542052#awesm=~oCxqtKtfHvhoGj,">web.archive.org/web/20161115153523www.biography.com/people/robert-downey-jr-9542052#awesm=~oCxqtKtfHvhoGj, November 15, 2016, live, is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. Downey’s career has been characterized by some early success, a period of drug-related problems and run-ins with the law, and a surge in popular and commercial success in the 2000s.MAGAZINE,faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-robert-downey-jr-saved-his-career/, How Robert Downey Jr. saved his career, April 4, 2021, Far Out (magazine), Far Out, February 17, 2024, February 17, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240217155245/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-robert-downey-jr-saved-his-career/, live, In 2008, Downey was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. From 2013 to 2015, he was listed by Forbes as Hollywood’s highest-paid actor.At the age of five, Downey made his acting debut in his father Robert Downey Sr.’s film Pound in 1970. He subsequently worked with the Brat Pack in the teen films Weird Science (1985) and Less than Zero (1987). Downey’s portrayal of Charlie Chaplin in the 1992 biopic Chaplin received a BAFTA Award. Following a stint at the Corcoran Substance Abuse Treatment Facility on drug charges, he joined the TV series Ally McBeal in 2000, and won a Golden Globe Award for the role. Downey was fired from the show in 2001 in the wake of additional drug charges. He stayed in a court-ordered drug treatment program and has maintained his sobriety since 2003.Downey made his acting comeback in the 2003 film The Singing Detective, after Mel Gibson paid his insurance bond because completion bond companies would not insure him.NEWS,www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99680,00.html, Mel Gibson’s New ‘Passion’ Is Robert Downey Jr., Fox News, Friedman, Roger, October 14, 2003, May 11, 2008,www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99680,00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20080424041304www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99680,00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20080424041304www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99680,00.html, April 24, 2008, dead, He went on to star in the black comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), the thriller Zodiac (2007), and the action comedy Tropic Thunder (2008). Downey gained global recognition for starring as Iron Man in ten films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Iron Man (2008), and leading up to (Avengers: Endgame) (2019). He has also played Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes (2009), which earned him his second Golden Globe, and its sequel, (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) (2011). Downey has also taken on dramatic parts in The Judge (2014) and Oppenheimer (2023), winning an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA Award for his portrayal of Lewis Strauss in the latter.

Early life

Robert John Downey Jr. was born on April 4, 1965, in Manhattan, New York City, the younger of two children.NEWS, 2004, Actor’s toughest role,www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/downey/profile.html, live,www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/downey/profile.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120129152632www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/downey/profile.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120129152632www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/downey/profile.html, January 29, 2012, May 1, 2008, CNN, His father, Robert Downey Sr., was a filmmaker, while his mother, Elsie Ann (née Ford), was an actress who appeared in Downey Sr.’s films.WEB, Natalie, Finn, Robert Downey Jr.’s Mother Dies: Read His Moving, Candid Tribute to Elsie Ann Downey,www.eonline.com/news/583342/robert-downey-jr-s-mother-dies-read-his-moving-candid-tribute-to-elsie-ann-downey, E!, November 5, 2014, September 26, 2014,www.eonline.com/news/583342/robert-downey-jr-s-mother-dies-read-his-moving-candid-tribute-to-elsie-ann-downey," title="web.archive.org/web/20141030135231www.eonline.com/news/583342/robert-downey-jr-s-mother-dies-read-his-moving-candid-tribute-to-elsie-ann-downey,">web.archive.org/web/20141030135231www.eonline.com/news/583342/robert-downey-jr-s-mother-dies-read-his-moving-candid-tribute-to-elsie-ann-downey, October 30, 2014, live, Downey’s father was one-half Lithuanian Jewish, one-quarter Hungarian Jewish, and one-quarter Irish descent, while Downey’s mother had Scottish, German, and Swiss ancestry.NEWS, Obituaries, Telegraph, 2021-07-08, Robert Downey Sr, counterculture film-maker who gave his son Robert Jr his first acting role – obituary,www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/07/08/robert-downey-sr-counterculture-film-maker-gave-son-robert-jr/, 2024-03-06, The Telegraph, en-GB, 0307-1235, July 15, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210715130241/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/07/08/robert-downey-sr-counterculture-film-maker-gave-son-robert-jr/, live, NEWS, Diamond, Jamie, Film: Robert Downey Jr. Is Chaplin (on Screen) and a Child (Off),query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE2DB1039F933A15751C1A964958260, The New York Times, December 20, 1992, February 18, 2017,query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE2DB1039F933A15751C1A964958260," title="web.archive.org/web/20090301180045query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE2DB1039F933A15751C1A964958260,">web.archive.org/web/20090301180045query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE2DB1039F933A15751C1A964958260, March 1, 2009, live, BOOK, Gates, Henry Louis, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Finding Your Roots: The Official Companion to the PBS Series, UNC Press Books, 2014, 978-1469618012, 1st, Robert Downey Jr., March 29, 2015,books.google.com/books?id=IDVcBAAAQBAJ&q=%22The+Ormay+family+gravestones%22&pg=PT187,web.archive.org/web/20170215102917/https://books.google.com/books?id=IDVcBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT187&dq=%22The+Ormay+family+gravestones%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=i14YVb-LOMOuggSFkoCYBw&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAA, February 15, 2017, live, First published 2014, Downey moved often, mainly due to his father’s film projects, living in places such as Woodstock, New York, London, New Mexico, California, Connecticut and Greenwich Village.MAGAZINE, 2000-08-01, Robert Downey Jr. Speaks From Prison,www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2000/08/robert-downey-jr-prison, 2024-03-07, Vanity Fair, en-US, March 29, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230329131535/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2000/08/robert-downey-jr-prison, live, The family experienced both periods of near-poverty and wealth, depending on the success of the films.BOOK,archive.org/details/robertdowneyjrfr0000unse, Robert Downey Jr. from brat to icon : essays on the film career, 2014, Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Internet Archive, 978-0-7864-7549-0, As a child, Downey was “surrounded by drugs”.WEB, CNN Programs - People in the News,www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/downey/profile.html, 2024-03-07, www.cnn.com, October 1, 2023,www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/downey/profile.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20231001045842www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/downey/profile.html,">web.archive.org/web/20231001045842www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/downey/profile.html, live, His father was a drug addict and his mother was an alcoholic.WEB, Couch, Aaron, 2014-09-26, Robert Downey Jr. Pens Heartfelt Tribute to His Late Mother,www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/robert-downey-jr-pens-heartfelt-736090/, 2024-03-07, The Hollywood Reporter, September 2, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230902035947/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/robert-downey-jr-pens-heartfelt-736090/, live, His father allowed him to use drugs at a young age; he said that he gave Downey marijuana for the first time at age six, and that Downey also “might have had a little coke” as a child.NEWS, Stern, Marlow, 2014-11-26, The Renegade: Robert Downey Sr. on His Classic Films, Son’s Battle with Drugs, and Bill Cosby,www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/26/the-renegade-robert-downey-sr-on-his-classic-films-son-s-battle-with-drugs-and-bill-cosby, 2024-03-07, The Daily Beast, en, May 22, 2017,www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/26/the-renegade-robert-downey-sr-on-his-classic-films-son-s-battle-with-drugs-and-bill-cosby," title="web.archive.org/web/20170522121919www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/26/the-renegade-robert-downey-sr-on-his-classic-films-son-s-battle-with-drugs-and-bill-cosby,">web.archive.org/web/20170522121919www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/26/the-renegade-robert-downey-sr-on-his-classic-films-son-s-battle-with-drugs-and-bill-cosby, live, His father later said that he regretted it. Downey stated that he and his father did drugs together for the first time when he was eight, and that drug use became an emotional bond between him and his father: “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”.BOOK, Bystedt, Karen Hardy,archive.org/details/newbreedactorsco0000byst, The new breed : actors coming of age, 1988, New York : H. Holt, Internet Archive, 978-0-8050-0774-9, WEB, Gliatto, Tom, August 19, 1996, Hitting Bottom,people.com/archive/hitting-bottom-vol-46-no-8/, live,people.com/archive/hitting-bottom-vol-46-no-8/," title="web.archive.org/web/20170102010030people.com/archive/hitting-bottom-vol-46-no-8/,">web.archive.org/web/20170102010030people.com/archive/hitting-bottom-vol-46-no-8/, January 2, 2017, January 26, 2011, People, WEB, Robert Downey Jr. Talks About Addiction and Passing It to His Son,abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2014/09/robert-downey-jr-talks-about-addiction-and-passing-them-to-his-son, live,web.archive.org/web/20220211042742/https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2014/09/robert-downey-jr-talks-about-addiction-and-passing-them-to-his-son, February 11, 2022, September 11, 2020, ABC News, en, During his childhood, Downey had minor roles in his father’s films. He made his acting debut at the age of five, playing a sick puppy in the absurdist comedy film Pound (1970), and then at seven appeared in the surrealist Western film Greaser’s Palace (1972). He went to Stagedoor Manor, a summer acting camp in upstate New York, when he was eleven and twelve. Downey’s parents divorced in 1977, when he was twelve. He went and lived with his mother, in a fifth-floor walk up in New York, as she “needed” him after the divorce, while his sister went to live with their father in California. After a few years Downey went to live with his father and began attending Santa Monica High School, but dropped out in 1982.WEB, 2024-01-15, Robert Downey Jr. Reveals He Was ‘Jealous’ Of Rob Lowe During Their High School Days; Says He Thought It Was ‘High Functioning’,www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/hollywood/robert-downey-jr-reveals-he-was-jealous-of-rob-lowe-during-their-high-school-days-says-he-thought-it-was-high-functioning-1271686, 2024-03-07, PINKVILLA, en, February 27, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240227143400/https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/hollywood/robert-downey-jr-reveals-he-was-jealous-of-rob-lowe-during-their-high-school-days-says-he-thought-it-was-high-functioning-1271686, live, At the age of 17 he moved back to New York to pursue an acting career full-time.NEWS,edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0208/17/pitn.00.html, CNN People in the News â€“ Profile of Robert Downey Jr., CNN, May 2, 2008, August 17, 2002,edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0208/17/pitn.00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20121023015346edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0208/17/pitn.00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20121023015346edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0208/17/pitn.00.html, October 23, 2012, live, Downey worked a number of different jobs to support himself while going to auditions, including clearing tables at Central Falls restaurant, working in a shoe store, and performing as “living art” at the nightclub Area.WEB, 2006-07-14, Robert Downey Jr.,freshairarchive.org/segments/robert-downey-jr, 2024-03-07, Fresh Air Archive: Interviews with Terry Gross, en, WEB, Morales, Tatiana, 2003-11-21, Robert Downey Jr.’s ‘Gothika’ - CBS News,www.cbsnews.com/news/robert-downey-jrs-gothika/, 2024-03-07, www.cbsnews.com, en-US, October 24, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201024124216/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/robert-downey-jrs-gothika/, live, WEB, 2023-11-15, “They cut all my scenes out”: Robert Downey Jr Went Through Absolute Humiliation After Telling All His Friends He Was a Major Star in Hollywood,fandomwire.com/they-cut-all-my-scenes-out-robert-downey-jr-went-through-absolute-humiliation-after-telling-all-his-friends-he-was-a-major-star-in-hollywood/, 2024-03-07, fandomwire.com, en-US, March 13, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240313123130/https://fandomwire.com/they-cut-all-my-scenes-out-robert-downey-jr-went-through-absolute-humiliation-after-telling-all-his-friends-he-was-a-major-star-in-hollywood/, live, Meanwhile, Downey got a few parts in local theatre and off-Broadway productions. He got his first credited film role in the 1983 film Baby It’s You, however his scenes ended up being cut.BOOK, Watson, Stephanie,archive.org/details/robertdowneyjrbl0000wats, Robert Downey Jr. : blockbuster movie star, 2012, Minneapolis, Minn. : ABDO Pub. Co., Internet Archive, 978-1-61783-322-9, MAGAZINE, Hirschberg, Lynn, 1988-05-19, Robert Downey Jr.’s Weird Science of Acting,www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/robert-downey-jr-s-weird-science-of-acting-179642/, 2024-03-07, Rolling Stone, February 13, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240213164808/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/robert-downey-jr-s-weird-science-of-acting-179642/, live,

Career

1983–1995: Early work and critical acclaim

File:Robert Downey Jr.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Downey at the premiere of Air America in 1990]]Downey began building upon theater roles, making his debut on stage in 1983 at the Geva Theatre Center in Alms for the Middle Class, for a three-week run.WEB, Greenwood, Marcia, TBT: Robert Downey Jr. makes stage acting debut at Geva,www.democratandchronicle.com/story/lifestyle/entertainment/2016/02/18/tbt-robert-downey-jr-makes-stage-acting-debut-geva/80556338/, 2024-03-08, Democrat and Chronicle, en-US, March 8, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240308061728/https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/lifestyle/entertainment/2016/02/18/tbt-robert-downey-jr-makes-stage-acting-debut-geva/80556338/, live, He also performed in the short-lived off-Broadway musical American Passion at the Joyce Theater in 1983, produced by Norman Lear.WEB, Actor Robert Downey, Jr. in a scene fr. the Off-Broadway musical “American Passion.” (New York),digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/880898f0-4a42-0131-e947-58d385a7b928, 2024-03-08, NYPL Digital Collections, en, March 8, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240308061728/https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/880898f0-4a42-0131-e947-58d385a7b928, live, In 1984, Downey got a part in the film Firstborn, where he met Sarah Jessica Parker, and the pair started dating.WEB, Sarah Jessica Parker and Robert Downey Jr. Used to Throw Water Balloons at Their Hollywood Neighbors,www.instyle.com/news/tbt-sarah-jessica-parker-robert-downey-jr-relationship, 2024-03-08, InStyle, en, March 8, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240308061728/https://www.instyle.com/news/tbt-sarah-jessica-parker-robert-downey-jr-relationship, live, In 1985, he was part of the new, younger cast hired for Saturday Night Live. Downey has said that Anthony Michael Hall, whom he had met and become friends with on the set of his Weird Science, had helped him get the audition.WEB, Moor, Ashley, 2021-10-28, Inside Anthony Michael Hall’s Relationship With Robert Downey Jr,www.thelist.com/645747/inside-anthony-michael-halls-relationship-with-robert-downey-jr/, 2024-03-08, The List, en-US, March 8, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240308061728/https://www.thelist.com/645747/inside-anthony-michael-halls-relationship-with-robert-downey-jr/, live, However, he and most of the new crew were dropped and replaced following a year of poor ratings and criticism of the new cast’s comedic talents. Rolling Stone magazine named Downey the worst SNL cast member in its entire run, stating that the “Downey Fail sums up everything that makes SNL great”.MAGAZINE, Sheffield, Rob,www.rollingstone.com/tv/lists/saturday-night-live-all-141-cast-members-ranked-20150211/141-robert-downey-jr-20150211, 145. Robert Downey Jr. | ‘Saturday Night Live’: All 145 Cast Members Ranked, Rolling Stone, February 11, 2015, March 3, 2017,www.rollingstone.com/tv/lists/saturday-night-live-all-141-cast-members-ranked-20150211/141-robert-downey-jr-20150211," title="web.archive.org/web/20170219004334www.rollingstone.com/tv/lists/saturday-night-live-all-141-cast-members-ranked-20150211/141-robert-downey-jr-20150211,">web.archive.org/web/20170219004334www.rollingstone.com/tv/lists/saturday-night-live-all-141-cast-members-ranked-20150211/141-robert-downey-jr-20150211, February 19, 2017, live, That same year, Downey had a dramatic acting breakthrough when he played James Spader’s sidekick in Tuff Turf and then a bully in John Hughes’s Weird Science. Molly Ringwald wanted him for the role of Duckie in John Hughes’s film Pretty in Pink (1986), but the part went to Jon Cryer.BOOK, Kirk Honeycutt,books.google.com/books?id=7NyrBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA102, John Hughes: A Life in Film The Genius Behind Ferris Bueller, The Breakfast Club, Home Alone, and More, Race Point Publishing, 2015, 978-1-63106-022-9, 102, March 2, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230302233127/https://books.google.com/books?id=7NyrBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA102, March 2, 2023, live, WEB, 2021-03-03, Molly Ringwald Revisits The Crazy Fashion (& Sexual Politics) Of ‘Pretty In Pink’, 35 Years On,www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/molly-ringwald-interview, 2024-03-08, British Vogue, en-GB, April 11, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210411054512/https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/molly-ringwald-interview, live, He went on to star with Ringwald in his first lead role in The Pick-up Artist (1987). Because of these and other coming-of-age films Downey did during the 1980s, he is sometimes named as a member of the Brat Pack.NEWS,seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2002575504_downey23.html, Downey riding high on the comeback trail, The Seattle Times, David, Germain, May 2, 2008, October 23, 2005,seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2002575504_downey23.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110629054425seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2002575504_downey23.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110629054425seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2002575504_downey23.html, June 29, 2011, live, Downey moved to Hollywood and lived with fellow actors Billy Zane, who later appeared with Downey in Only You (1994), Sarah Jessica Parker and Kiefer Sutherland, who starred with Downey in 1969 (1988).WEB, 2022-04-29, Kiefer Sutherland: ‘When the FBI comes running through your house, you remember it’,www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/kiefer-sutherland-interview-2022-bloor-street-24-b1997413.html, 2024-03-08, The Independent, en, March 8, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240308061728/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/kiefer-sutherland-interview-2022-bloor-street-24-b1997413.html, live, NEWS, Manzoor, Sarfraz, 2024-03-08, Kiefer Sutherland: ‘I have regrets, but I had a great time’, The Times,www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kiefer-sutherland-i-have-regrets-but-i-had-a-great-time-38gd3t67j, 2024-03-08, en, 0140-0460, March 8, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240308070236/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kiefer-sutherland-i-have-regrets-but-i-had-a-great-time-38gd3t67j, live, In 1987, Downey 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. His performance, described by Janet Maslin in The New York Times as “desperately moving”,NEWS,query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE4DA1239F935A35752C1A961948260&sec=&spon=, Film: ‘Less Than Zero’, Young Lives, The New York Times, Maslin, Janet, May 2, 2008, November 6, 1987, Janet Maslin, July 29, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180729141559/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/06/movies/film-less-than-zero-young-lives.html, live, was widely praised, though Downey has said that for him “the role was like the ghost of Christmas Future” since his drug habit resulted in his becoming an “exaggeration of the character” in real life.NEWS,film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1080388,00.html, More than skin deep, The Guardian, UK, November 8, 2003, Jon, Wilde, May 2, 2008,film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1080388,00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20080828193924film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1080388,00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20080828193924film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1080388,00.html, August 28, 2008, live, Soon after completing the film, Downey went into rehab for the first time; the episode would be followed by a number of interventions and stints in rehab over the next decade prior to his 1996 arrest.WEB, 2008-04-26, Robert Downey Jr: return of the hero,www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3672926/Robert-Downey-Jr-return-of-the-hero.html, 2024-03-08, The Telegraph, en, March 8, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240308055522/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3672926/Robert-Downey-Jr-return-of-the-hero.html, live, Zero drove Downey into films with bigger budgets and names, such as Chances Are (1989) with Cybill Shepherd and Ryan O’Neal, Air America (1990) with Mel Gibson, and Soapdish (1991) with Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Cathy Moriarty, and Whoopi Goldberg.WEB, Roger, Ebert, Chances Are Movie Review & Film Summary,www.rogerebert.com/reviews/chances-are-1989, Roger Ebert Online, July 10, 2014, March 10, 1989,www.rogerebert.com/reviews/chances-are-1989," title="web.archive.org/web/20140709042249www.rogerebert.com/reviews/chances-are-1989,">web.archive.org/web/20140709042249www.rogerebert.com/reviews/chances-are-1989, July 9, 2014, live, WEB, Ben, Child, Robert Downey Jr: Hollywood should forgive Mel Gibson,www.theguardian.com/film/2011/oct/17/robert-downey-jr-mel-gibson, The Guardian, July 10, 2014, October 17, 2011,www.theguardian.com/film/2011/oct/17/robert-downey-jr-mel-gibson," title="web.archive.org/web/20141106021918www.theguardian.com/film/2011/oct/17/robert-downey-jr-mel-gibson,">web.archive.org/web/20141106021918www.theguardian.com/film/2011/oct/17/robert-downey-jr-mel-gibson, November 6, 2014, live, WEB, Roger, Ebert, Soapdish Movie Review & Film Summary,www.rogerebert.com/reviews/soapdish-1991, Roger Ebert Online, July 10, 2014, May 31, 1991,www.rogerebert.com/reviews/soapdish-1991," title="web.archive.org/web/20140709004549www.rogerebert.com/reviews/soapdish-1991,">web.archive.org/web/20140709004549www.rogerebert.com/reviews/soapdish-1991, July 9, 2014, live, In 1992, he starred as Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin, a role for which he prepared extensively, learning how to play the violin as well as tennis left-handed. He had a personal coach in order to help him imitate Chaplin’s posture and way of carrying himself.NEWS,query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3D91E3EF932A25757C0A965958260, Film: Once Again The Clowning Gets Physical, The New York Times, Hornaday, Anne, August 1, 2008, April 11, 1993, July 29, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180729141715/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/11/movies/film-once-again-the-clowning-gets-physical.html, live, The role garnered Downey an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards 65th ceremony, losing to Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman.MAGAZINE,www.rollingstone.com/blogs/traverstake/2008/03/the-strange-case-of-iron-man-r.php, The Strange Case of Iron Man Robert Downey Jr., Rolling Stone, Travers, Peter, August 1, 2008, March 13, 2008,www.rollingstone.com/blogs/traverstake/2008/03/the-strange-case-of-iron-man-r.php," title="web.archive.org/web/20080619105209www.rollingstone.com/blogs/traverstake/2008/03/the-strange-case-of-iron-man-r.php,">web.archive.org/web/20080619105209www.rollingstone.com/blogs/traverstake/2008/03/the-strange-case-of-iron-man-r.php, June 19, 2008, live, In 1993, he appeared in the films Heart and Souls with Alfre Woodard and Kyra Sedgwick and Short Cuts with Matthew Modine and Julianne Moore, along with a documentary that he wrote about the 1992 presidential campaigns titled The Last Party (1993).WEB, Janet, Maslin, Heart and Souls (1993) Reviews/Film: A Yuppie Haunted (Really) By Other People’s Problems,www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE1DF1F38F930A2575BC0A965958260, The New York Times, July 10, 2014, August 13, 1993,www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE1DF1F38F930A2575BC0A965958260," title="web.archive.org/web/20140907192823www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE1DF1F38F930A2575BC0A965958260,">web.archive.org/web/20140907192823www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE1DF1F38F930A2575BC0A965958260, September 7, 2014, live, MAGAZINE, Peter, Travers, Short Cuts {{!, Movie Review|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/short-cuts-19931003|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=July 10, 2014|date=October 3, 1993|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715085201www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/short-cuts-19931003|archive-date=July 15, 2014|url-status=live}}WEB, Chris, Heath, Robert Downey Jr: 21 Years Ago,www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201305/robert-downey-jr-in-1992, GQ, July 10, 2014, April 2013,www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201305/robert-downey-jr-in-1992," title="web.archive.org/web/20140714220218www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201305/robert-downey-jr-in-1992,">web.archive.org/web/20140714220218www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201305/robert-downey-jr-in-1992, July 14, 2014, live, He starred in the 1994 films, Only You with Marisa Tomei, and Natural Born Killers with Woody Harrelson.WEB, Roger, Ebert, Only You Movie Review & Film Summary,www.rogerebert.com/reviews/only-you-1994, Roger Ebert Online, July 10, 2014, October 7, 1994,www.rogerebert.com/reviews/only-you-1994," title="web.archive.org/web/20140708231109www.rogerebert.com/reviews/only-you-1994,">web.archive.org/web/20140708231109www.rogerebert.com/reviews/only-you-1994, July 8, 2014, live, WEB, Britt, Hayes, See the Cast of ‘Natural Born Killers’ Then and Now, January 11, 2014,screencrush.com/natural-born-killers-then-and-now/, Screen Crush, July 10, 2014,screencrush.com/natural-born-killers-then-and-now/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140717050018screencrush.com/natural-born-killers-then-and-now/,">web.archive.org/web/20140717050018screencrush.com/natural-born-killers-then-and-now/, July 17, 2014, live, He then subsequently appeared in Restoration (1995), Richard III (1995), Home for the Holidays (1995), Two Girls and a Guy (1997),WEB,www.rogerebert.com/reviews/two-girls-and-a-guy-1998, Ebert, Roger, Two Girls and a Guy, RogerEbert.com, Chicago Sun-Times, April 24, 1998, November 27, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20191226102959/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/two-girls-and-a-guy-1998, December 26, 2019, live, as Special Agent John Royce in U.S. Marshals (1998), and in Black and White (1999).WEB, Janet, Maslin, Restoration (1994) Film Review: The King’s Vet, Beard and Cuckolder,www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9904EEDC1239F93AA15751C1A963958260, The New York Times, July 10, 2014, December 29, 1995,www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9904EEDC1239F93AA15751C1A963958260," title="web.archive.org/web/20140716121405www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9904EEDC1239F93AA15751C1A963958260,">web.archive.org/web/20140716121405www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9904EEDC1239F93AA15751C1A963958260, July 16, 2014, live, WEB, Ian McKellen’s Richard III {{!, Notes |url=http://www.mckellen.com/cinema/richard/notes.htm |publisher=McKellen.com |access-date=July 10, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430075105www.mckellen.com/cinema/richard/notes.htm |archive-date=April 30, 2009 }}WEB, Robert Downey Jr. Turned Down Heather Graham,www.entertainmentwise.com/news/41729/robert-downey-jr-turned-down-heather-graham, Entertainment Wise, July 10, 2014, April 15, 2008,www.entertainmentwise.com/news/41729/robert-downey-jr-turned-down-heather-graham," title="web.archive.org/web/20140714153216www.entertainmentwise.com/news/41729/robert-downey-jr-turned-down-heather-graham,">web.archive.org/web/20140714153216www.entertainmentwise.com/news/41729/robert-downey-jr-turned-down-heather-graham, July 14, 2014, live, WEB, Roger, Ebert, Black and White Movie Review & Film Summary,www.rogerebert.com/reviews/black-and-white-2000, Roger Ebert Online, July 10, 2014, April 5, 2000,www.rogerebert.com/reviews/black-and-white-2000," title="web.archive.org/web/20140709003938www.rogerebert.com/reviews/black-and-white-2000,">web.archive.org/web/20140709003938www.rogerebert.com/reviews/black-and-white-2000, July 9, 2014, live, Ally McBeal“>

1996–2001: Addiction-related setbacks and Ally McBeal

From 1996 through 2001, Downey was arrested several times on charges related to drugs including cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.MAGAZINE,content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,98373,00.html, Will Robert Downey Jr.’s Case Spark a Change in Drug Sentencing?, Time, Reaves, Jessica, May 1, 2008, February 7, 2001,content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,98373,00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20160826172534content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,98373,00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20160826172534content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,98373,00.html, August 26, 2016, live, He went through drug treatment programs and time in county jail and prison. He explained in 1999 to a judge: “It’s like I have a shotgun in my mouth, and I’ve got my finger on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gun metal.” He said he had been addicted to drugs since the age of eight due to the fact that his father had been giving them to him.NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/413283.stm, Addicted Downey Jnr jailed, BBC News, May 1, 2008, August 6, 1999,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/413283.stm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120330114926news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/413283.stm,">web.archive.org/web/20120330114926news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/413283.stm, March 30, 2012, live, In early 1996, after becoming increasingly concerned for Downey, Sean Penn and Dennis Quaid knocked his door down, took his keys and took him to a rehab centre in Tucson, however Downey escaped and checked himself out a few days later. In June 1996, Downey was arrested for possession of heroin, cocaine, crack and an unloaded .357 Magnum handgun while he was speeding down Sunset Boulevard. A month later, while on parole, he wandered into a neighbor’s home through the unlocked front door while under the influence of a controlled substance and fell asleep in one of the beds.NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=1&ref=movies&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin, Been Up, Been Down. Now? Super., The New York Times, Carr, David, May 1, 2008, April 20, 2008,www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=1&ref=movies&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin," title="web.archive.org/web/20130525000357www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=1&ref=movies&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin,">web.archive.org/web/20130525000357www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=1&ref=movies&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin, May 25, 2013, live, MAGAZINE,www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1731600-2,00.html, Robert Downey Jr.: Back from the Brink, Time, Winters Keegan, Rebecca, May 1, 2008, April 16, 2008,www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1731600-2,00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120118135333www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1731600-2,00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120118135333www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1731600-2,00.html, January 18, 2012, dead, The family refused to press trespassing charges.MAGAZINE, 2000-08-01, Robert Downey Jr. Speaks From Prison,www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2000/08/robert-downey-jr-prison, 2024-03-08, Vanity Fair, en-US, March 29, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230329131535/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2000/08/robert-downey-jr-prison, live, The tape of the neighbor’s 911 call was made available online, and it became known as the “goldilocks incident”.WEB, The star who came back from the depths {{!, Robert Downey Jr {{!}} The Guardian |url=https://amp.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/24/robertdowneyjr.usa |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=amp.theguardian.com |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308055522amp.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/24/robertdowneyjr.usa |url-status=live }} In November 1996, after spending time in court ordered rehab, he received a further six-months of live-in rehab, three years’ probation and was ordered to undergo compulsory drug testing. In 1997, he missed one of the court-ordered drug tests and had to spend six months in the Los Angeles County jail.WEB, Robert W., Welkos, Actor Robert Downey Jr. Given 6-Month Jail Term,articles.latimes.com/1997/dec/09/local/me-62196, Los Angeles Times, July 10, 2014, December 9, 1997,articles.latimes.com/1997/dec/09/local/me-62196," title="web.archive.org/web/20140714224120articles.latimes.com/1997/dec/09/local/me-62196,">web.archive.org/web/20140714224120articles.latimes.com/1997/dec/09/local/me-62196, July 14, 2014, live, After being released, he went into a court-ordered 120-day rehab program.{{multiple image }}In 1999, after being clean during the shooting of Wonder Boys, Downey relapsed. During this time he was struggling with legal bills and had lost his house in Malibu. After Downey missed another required drug test in 1999, he was arrested again. Despite Downey’s lawyer, Robert Shapiro, assembling the same team of lawyers that had successfully defended O. J. Simpson during his criminal trial for murder, Downey was sentenced to a three-year prison term at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran, California. At the time of the arrest, all of Downey’s film projects had wrapped and were close to release. He 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.NEWS,www.variety.com/article/VR1117750121.html?categoryid=13&cs=1, Downey gets 3-year prison term for parole violations, Variety (magazine), Variety, Ault, Susanne, August 8, 2008, August 6, 1999, NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/375887.stm, Downey Jr back in jail, BBC News, August 8, 2008, July 23, 1999,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/375887.stm," title="web.archive.org/web/20021108122740news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/375887.stm,">web.archive.org/web/20021108122740news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/375887.stm, November 8, 2002, live, After spending nearly a year in the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Downey, on condition of posting a $5,000 bail, was unexpectedly freed when a judge ruled that his collective time in incarceration facilities (from the initial 1996 arrests) had qualified him for early release. A week after his 2000 release, Downey joined the cast of the hit television series Ally McBeal, playing a new love interest.NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/875828.stm, Downey Jr lands McBeal role, BBC News, May 1, 2008, August 11, 2000,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/875828.stm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120330113511news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/875828.stm,">web.archive.org/web/20120330113511news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/875828.stm, March 30, 2012, live, He 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.NEWS,www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,29375,00.html, Bada Bing! Sopranos Leads Emmy Pack, Fox News Channel, May 1, 2008, July 12, 2001,www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,29375,00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20100604005442www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,29375,00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20100604005442www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,29375,00.html, June 4, 2010, dead, NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1091051.stm, Downey Jr’s Golden acting career, BBC News, May 1, 2008, January 22, 2001,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1091051.stm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120330113204news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1091051.stm,">web.archive.org/web/20120330113204news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1091051.stm, March 30, 2012, live, He also 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. Despite the apparent success, Downey claimed that his performance on the series was overrated and said, “It was my lowest point in terms of addictions. At that stage, I didn’t give a fuck whether I ever acted again.” In January 2001, Downey was scheduled to play the role of Hamlet in a Los Angeles stage production directed by Mel Gibson.NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/935383.stm, Gibson Downey Jr becomes Hamlet, BBC News, September 21, 2000, June 1, 2008,news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/935383.stm," title="web.archive.org/web/20090115082537news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/935383.stm,">web.archive.org/web/20090115082537news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/935383.stm, January 15, 2009, live, Before the end of his first season on Ally McBeal, Downey was arrested on Thanksgiving in 2000, when his room at Merv Griffin’s Hotel and Givenchy Spa in Palm Springs, California, was searched by the police, who were responding to an anonymous 911 call. Downey was under the influence of a controlled substance and in possession of cocaine and Valium.NEWS,query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07E0D6113BF934A25754C0A9679C8B63, Boldface Names, Baron, James, The New York Times, May 1, 2008, July 17, 2001, November 23, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181123202900/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/17/nyregion/boldface-names-279722.html, live, MAGAZINE,ew.com/article/2001/04/24/robert-downey-jr-arrested-la/, Robert Downey Jr. arrested in L.A., Angulo, Sandra P., Entertainment Weekly, October 2, 2019, April 24, 2001,web.archive.org/web/20181020140606/https://ew.com/article/2001/04/24/robert-downey-jr-arrested-la/, October 20, 2018, live, Rolling Stone later ran a six-page investigation into the weekend’s events. Despite the fact that, if convicted, he would have faced a prison sentence of up to four years and eight months, he signed on to appear in at least eight more Ally McBeal episodes.NEWS,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1171634.stm, Downey Jr signs McBeal deal, BBC News, May 11, 2008, February 15, 2001,news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1171634.stm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120330120605news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1171634.stm,">web.archive.org/web/20120330120605news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1171634.stm, March 30, 2012, live, In April 2001, while Downey was on parole, a Los Angeles police officer found him wandering barefoot in Culver City. He was arrested for suspicion of being under the influence of drugs, but was released a few hours later,NEWS,www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,15876,00.html, Robert Downey Jr. Fired From Ally McBeal After Another Arrest, Associated Press, Fox News Channel, May 11, 2008, April 25, 2001,www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,15876,00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20091003025020www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,15876,00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20091003025020www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,15876,00.html, October 3, 2009, dead, even though tests showed he had cocaine in his system.NEWS,www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/news/2001/05/44194, Robert Downey Jr.’s Drug ‘Deal’, Reuters, Wired (website), Wired, May 11, 2008, May 31, 2001,www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/news/2001/05/44194," title="web.archive.org/web/20090110195743www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/news/2001/05/44194,">web.archive.org/web/20090110195743www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/news/2001/05/44194, January 10, 2009, live, After this last arrest, Ally McBeal executives ordered last-minute rewrites and reshoots and fired Downey, despite the fact that Downey’s character had resuscitated Ally McBeal{{’}}s ratings.NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/business/this-season-to-be-last-for-ally-mcbeal.html?scp=1&sq=%20%22This%20Season%20to%20Be%20Last%20for%20%27Ally%20McBeal&st=cse, This Season to Be Last for ‘Ally McBeal’, Carter, Bill, The New York Times, September 9, 2010, April 18, 2002,www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/business/this-season-to-be-last-for-ally-mcbeal.html?scp=1&sq=%20%22This%20Season%20to%20Be%20Last%20for%20%27Ally%20McBeal&st=cse," title="web.archive.org/web/20130525000609www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/business/this-season-to-be-last-for-ally-mcbeal.html?scp=1&sq=%20%22This%20Season%20to%20Be%20Last%20for%20%27Ally%20McBeal&st=cse,">web.archive.org/web/20130525000609www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/business/this-season-to-be-last-for-ally-mcbeal.html?scp=1&sq=%20%22This%20Season%20to%20Be%20Last%20for%20%27Ally%20McBeal&st=cse, May 25, 2013, live, The Culver City arrest also cost him a role in the high-profile film America’s Sweethearts, and the subsequent incarceration prompted Gibson to cancel his Hamlet production. In July 2001, Downey pleaded no contest to the Palm Springs charges, avoiding jail time. Instead, he was sent into drug rehabilitation and received three years of probation, benefiting from California Proposition 36, which had been passed the year before with the aim of helping nonviolent drug offenders overcome their addictions instead of sending them to jail.NEWS,edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0107/16/se.03.html, Robert Downey Jr. to Enter Plea Agreement on Drug Charges, CNN, May 11, 2008, July 16, 2001,edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0107/16/se.03.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120110111727edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0107/16/se.03.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120110111727edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0107/16/se.03.html, January 10, 2012, live, Downey spent a year at the court-ordered drug-treatment facility. By this time Downey was homeless, too much of an insurance liability to be employable and on the verge of bankruptcy.The book Conversations with Woody Allen reports that director Woody Allen wanted to cast Downey and Winona Ryder in his film Melinda and Melinda in 2003 but was unable to do so because he could not get insurance on them. Allen stated, “We couldn’t get bonded. The completion bonding companies would not bond the picture unless we could insure them. We were heartbroken because I had worked with Winona before [on Celebrity] and thought she was perfect for this and wanted to work with her again. And I had always wanted to work with Bob Downey and always thought he was a huge talent.“BOOK, Lax, Eric, Eric Lax, First published 2007, Chapter 1: The Idea, Conversations With Woody Allen: His Films, the Movies, and Moviemaking. Updated and expanded., E-book, 1st, New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, 978-1400031498, 2009012210, 232980446, 23192563M, In a December 18, 2000, article for People magazine titled “Bad to Worse”, Downey’s stepmother Rosemary told author Alex Tresnlowski that Downey had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder “a few years ago” and added that this was “the reason he has a hard time staying sober. What hasn’t been tried is medication and intensive psychotherapy”.WEB,people.com/archive/cover-story-bad-to-worse-vol-54-no-26/, Bad to Worse, Tresnlowski, Alex, People, December 18, 2000, October 2, 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190808221202/https://people.com/archive/cover-story-bad-to-worse-vol-54-no-26/, August 8, 2019, live, In the same article, Dr. Manijeh Nikakhtar, a Los Angeles psychiatrist and co-author of Addiction or Self-Medication: The Truth, claimed she received a letter from Downey in 1999, during his time at Corcoran II, asking for advice on his condition. She discovered that “no one had done a complete [psychiatric] evaluation [on him] ... I asked him flat out if he thought he was bipolar, and he said, ‘Oh yeah. There are times I spend a lot of money and I’m hyperactive, and there are other times I’m down.’“In an article for the March 2007 issue of Esquire, Downey stated that he wanted to address “this whole thing about the bipolar” after receiving a phone call from “the Bipolar Association” asking him about being bipolar. When Downey denied he had ever said he was bipolar, the caller quoted the People article, to which Downey replied, “’No! Dr. Malibusian said [I said I was bipolar] ... ‘, and they go, ‘Well, it’s been written, so we’re going to quote it.’“WEB,www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0307downeyjr, May God Bless and Keep Robert Downey Jr., Raab, Scott, Esquire, March 2007, November 1, 2010,www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0307downeyjr," title="web.archive.org/web/20140114215426www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0307downeyjr,">web.archive.org/web/20140114215426www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0307downeyjr, January 14, 2014, live, Downey flatly denied being “depressed or manic” and said that previous attempts to diagnose him with any kind of psychiatric or mood disorder have always been skewed because “the guy I was seeing didn’t know I was smokin’ crack in his bathroom. You can’t make a diagnosis until somebody’s sober.”

2001–2007: Resurgence

After five years of substance abuse, arrests, rehabilitation, and relapse, Downey was ready to work toward a full recovery from drugs and return to his career. In discussing his failed attempts to control his addictive behavior in the past, Downey told Oprah Winfrey in November 2004 that “when someone says, ‘I really wonder if maybe I should go to rehab?’ Well, uh, you’re a wreck, you just lost your job, and your wife left you. Uh, you might want to give it a shot.“{{YouTube|0_K_3h1KBS8|The Oprah Winfrey Show}}, second segment, November 22, 2004. Retrieved March 16, 2013. He added that after his last arrest in April 2001, when he knew he would likely be facing another stint in prison or another form of incarceration such as court-ordered rehab, “I said, ‘You know what? I don’t think I can continue doing this.’ And I reached out for help, and I ran with it. You can reach out for help in kind of a half-assed way and you’ll get it and you won’t take advantage of it. It’s not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems ... what’s hard is to decide to do it.“Downey got his first post-rehabilitation acting job in August 2001, lip-syncing in the video for Elton John’s single “I Want Love”.WEB,www.mtv.com/news/articles/1445963/20010803/john_elton.jhtml, Elton John Casts Robert Downey Jr. In His New Video, May 3, 2008, Schumacher-Rasmussen, Eric, August 3, 2001, MTV News,www.mtv.com/news/articles/1445963/20010803/john_elton.jhtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20100315085700www.mtv.com/news/articles/1445963/20010803/john_elton.jhtml,">web.archive.org/web/20100315085700www.mtv.com/news/articles/1445963/20010803/john_elton.jhtml, March 15, 2010, live, Video director Sam Taylor-Wood shot 16 takes of the video and used the last one because, according to John, Downey looked completely relaxed and “the way he underplays it is fantastic”.WEB,www.mtv.com/bands/j/john_elton/news_feature_101201/, Elton John: California Love (Interview), May 3, 2008, Rankin, Rebecca, MTV News, dead,www.mtv.com/bands/j/john_elton/news_feature_101201/," title="web.archive.org/web/20080726214913www.mtv.com/bands/j/john_elton/news_feature_101201/,">web.archive.org/web/20080726214913www.mtv.com/bands/j/john_elton/news_feature_101201/, July 26, 2008, Downey was able to return to the big screen after Mel Gibson, who had been a close friend to Downey since both had co-starred in Air America, paid Downey’s insurance bond for the 2003 film The Singing Detective (directed by his Back to School co-star Keith Gordon). Gibson’s gamble paved the way for Downey’s comeback and Downey returned to mainstream films in the mid-2000s with Gothika, for which producer Joel Silver withheld 40% of Downey’s salary until after production wrapped as insurance against his addictive behavior. Similar clauses became standard in his contracts throughout the 2000s.EPISODE, Robert Downey Jr., Shootout, Shootout (TV series), AMC (TV network), AMC, July 14, 2006, Silver, who was getting closer to Downey as he dated his assistant Susan Levin (later Susan Downey), also got the actor the leading role in the comedy thriller Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the directorial debut of screenwriter Shane Black.WEB,www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/lethal-weapon-wunderkind-party-boy-892186, ‘Lethal Weapon’ Wunderkind (and Former Party Boy) Shane Black Is Back ... and Still Looking for Action, May 13, 2016, Svetkey, Benjamin, The Hollywood Reporter, May 13, 2016,www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/lethal-weapon-wunderkind-party-boy-892186," title="web.archive.org/web/20170108152533www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/lethal-weapon-wunderkind-party-boy-892186,">web.archive.org/web/20170108152533www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/lethal-weapon-wunderkind-party-boy-892186, January 8, 2017, live, After Gothika, Downey was cast in a number of leading and supporting roles, including well-received work in a number of semi-independent films: A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Good Night, and Good Luck, Richard Linklater’s dystopian, rotoscoped A Scanner Darkly (in which Downey plays the role of a drug addict), and Steven Shainberg’s fictional biographical film of Diane Arbus, Fur, in which Downey’s character represented the two biggest influences on Arbus’s professional life, Lisette Model and Marvin Israel.NEWS,www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111000293_pf.html, A ‘Fur’-Fetched Portrait of Arbus? Precisely! Says the Filmmaker, The Washington Post, Frey, Jennifer, November 12, 2006, May 15, 2008,www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111000293_pf.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20121111131919www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111000293_pf.html,">web.archive.org/web/20121111131919www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111000293_pf.html, November 11, 2012, live, Downey also received great notice for his roles in more mainstream fare such as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Disney’s poorly received The Shaggy Dog.WEB, Mike, D’Angelo, Actors of the Year, 7,www.esquire.com/features/the-screen/greatperformances1207-7, Esquire (magazine), Esquire, July 10, 2014, November 20, 2007, dead,www.esquire.com/features/the-screen/greatperformances1207-7," title="web.archive.org/web/20150103121925www.esquire.com/features/the-screen/greatperformances1207-7,">web.archive.org/web/20150103121925www.esquire.com/features/the-screen/greatperformances1207-7, January 3, 2015, On November 23, 2004, Downey 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.As listed in the credits on the CD version of The Futurist. The album received mixed reviews,NEWS,media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2004/12/09/TheScene/Sound.Byte.Robert.Downey.The.Futurist-825969.shtml, Robert Downey Jr. The Futurist, The Heights (newspaper), The Heights, Nicole, Pensiero, December 9, 2004, August 6, 2008, dead,media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2004/12/09/TheScene/Sound.Byte.Robert.Downey.The.Futurist-825969.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20090108053050media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2004/12/09/TheScene/Sound.Byte.Robert.Downey.The.Futurist-825969.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20090108053050media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2004/12/09/TheScene/Sound.Byte.Robert.Downey.The.Futurist-825969.shtml, January 8, 2009, NEWS,music.msn.com/music/album-review/robert-downey-jr/the-futurist/, The Futurist: Critic’s Review, MSN Music, Collar, Matt, August 6, 2008,music.msn.com/music/album-review/robert-downey-jr/the-futurist/," title="web.archive.org/web/20120616071434music.msn.com/music/album-review/robert-downey-jr/the-futurist/,">web.archive.org/web/20120616071434music.msn.com/music/album-review/robert-downey-jr/the-futurist/, June 16, 2012, dead, but Downey 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.NEWS,www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2006/mar/26/features.magazine37, This Much I Know: Robert Downey Jr, The Observer, UK, Horkins, Tony, March 26, 2006, May 11, 2008,www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2006/mar/26/features.magazine37," title="web.archive.org/web/20140213142940www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2006/mar/26/features.magazine37,">web.archive.org/web/20140213142940www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2006/mar/26/features.magazine37, February 13, 2014, live, In 2006, Downey returned to television when he did voice acting on Family Guy in the episode “The Fat Guy Strangler”. Downey 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. The producers of the show accepted the offer and created the character of Patrick Pewterschmidt, Lois Griffin’s long lost, mentally disturbed brother, for Downey.AV MEDIA, Sheridan, Chris, 2005, Family Guy season 4 DVD commentary for the episode ‘The Fat Guy Strangler’, DVD, 20th Century Fox, Downey 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”. In 2008, however, Downey returned his advance to the publishers, and canceled the book without further comment.NEWS,today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25801610/ns/today-books/, Robert Downey Jr. postpones memoir, MSNBC, Italie, Hillel, July 30, 2008, January 24, 2008,today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25801610/ns/today-books/," title="web.archive.org/web/20120926000959today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25801610/ns/today-books/,">web.archive.org/web/20120926000959today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25801610/ns/today-books/, September 26, 2012, dead, In 2007, Downey appeared in David Fincher’s mystery thriller Zodiac, which was based on a true story. He played the role of San Francisco Chronicle journalist Paul Avery, who was reporting the Zodiac Killer case.WEB, Paul, Harris, So Who Was the Zodiac Killer?,www.theguardian.com/film/2007/apr/15/usa.world, The Guardian, September 2, 2014, April 14, 2007,web.archive.org/web/20170710095041/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/apr/15/usa.world, July 10, 2017, live,

2008–2019: Iron Man and further success

File:Robert Downey Jr-2008 cropped.JPG|thumb|upright|left|Downey at an event for Iron Man in 2008]]Despite all of the critical success Downey had experienced throughout his career, he had not appeared in a “blockbuster” film. That changed in 2008 when Downey starred in two critically and commercially successful films, Iron Man and Tropic Thunder. In the article Ben Stiller wrote for Downey’s entry in the 2008 edition of The Time 100, he offered an observation on Downey’s commercially successful summer at the box office:{{blockquote|Yes, Downey is Iron Man, but he really is Actor Man ... In the realm where box office is irrelevant and talent is king, the realm that actually means something, he has always ruled, and finally this summer he gets to have his cake and let us eat him up all the way to the multiplex, where his mastery is in full effect. |Ben Stiller, The 2008 Time 100, entry No. 60, “Robert Downey Jr.“MAGAZINE, Stiller, Ben, The 2008 Time 100, entry No. 60, ‘Robert Downey Jr.’, Time, May 11, 2008,www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733752_1734629,00.html, April 17, 2009, Ben Stiller,www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733752_1734629,00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20090414111704www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733752_1734629,00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20090414111704www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733752_1734629,00.html, April 14, 2009, dead, }}In 2007, Downey was cast as the title character in the film Iron Man,NEWS,www.marvel.com/news/moviestories.666, Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man, Marvel News, September 29, 2006, September 29, 2006, dead,www.marvel.com/news/moviestories.666," title="archive.today/20120525093422www.marvel.com/news/moviestories.666,">archive.today/20120525093422www.marvel.com/news/moviestories.666, May 25, 2012, with director Jon Favreau explaining the choice by stating: “Downey wasn’t the most obvious choice, but he understood what makes the character tick. He found a lot of his own life experience in ‘Tony Stark’.“WEB,www.list.co.uk/article/8139-robert-downey-jrs-heroic-comeback/, Robert Downey Jr.’s heroic comeback, May 2, 2008, O’Loughlin, Lucy, May 2, 2008, The List (magazine), The List,www.list.co.uk/article/8139-robert-downey-jrs-heroic-comeback/," title="web.archive.org/web/20080505064610www.list.co.uk/article/8139-robert-downey-jrs-heroic-comeback/,">web.archive.org/web/20080505064610www.list.co.uk/article/8139-robert-downey-jrs-heroic-comeback/, May 5, 2008, live, Favreau insisted on having Downey as he repeatedly claimed that Downey would be to Iron Man what Johnny Depp is to the Pirates of the Caribbean series: a lead actor who could both elevate the quality of the film and increase the public’s interest in it.WEB,www.kansascity.com/entertainment/movies/story/590521.html, Jon Favreau rose from obscurity to direct ‘Iron Man’, May 2, 2008, Anderson, John, April 16, 2008, Kansas City.com,www.kansascity.com/entertainment/movies/story/590521.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20080503101342www.kansascity.com/entertainment/movies/story/590521.html,">web.archive.org/web/20080503101342www.kansascity.com/entertainment/movies/story/590521.html, May 3, 2008, dead, NEWS,www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/28/DD5C107O20.DTL&type=movie, Indie cred gave ‘Iron Man’ filmmaker his shot, May 2, 2008, Hartlaub, Peter, May 5, 2008, San Francisco Chronicle,www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2008%2F04%2F28%2FDD5C107O20.DTL&type=movie," title="web.archive.org/web/20120321083121www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2008%2F04%2F28%2FDD5C107O20.DTL&type=movie,">web.archive.org/web/20120321083121www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2008%2F04%2F28%2FDD5C107O20.DTL&type=movie, March 21, 2012, live, NEWS,www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043003729_pf.html, Nerve of Steel, May 2, 2008, Anderson, John, May 1, 2008, The Washington Post,www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043003729_pf.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20121111131928www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043003729_pf.html,">web.archive.org/web/20121111131928www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043003729_pf.html, November 11, 2012, live, For the role, Downey had to gain more than 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of muscle in five months to look like he “had the power to forge iron”.NEWS,www.seattlepi.com/movies/361415_downey02.html, Robert Downey Jr. has reforged his career in ‘Iron Man’, May 1, 2008, Masuda, Sylvia, May 2, 2008, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 16, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181116091610/https://www.seattlepi.com/ae/movies/article/Robert-Downey-Jr-has-reforged-his-career-in-1272139.php, live, Iron Man was released worldwide between April 30 and May 3, 2008, grossing over $585 million worldwideWEB,boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ironman.htm, Iron Man (2008), June 3, 2013, Box Office Mojo,www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ironman.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20130531032559www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ironman.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20130531032559www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ironman.htm, May 31, 2013, live, and receiving rave reviews which cited Downey’s performance as a highlight of the film.NEWS,www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050103883.html?nav=rss_print/style, ‘Iron Man’ Shows Strength of Character, The Washington Post, May 2, 2008, May 2, 2008, Ann, Hornaday,www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050103883.html?nav=rss_print%2Fstyle," title="web.archive.org/web/20121111131940www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050103883.html?nav=rss_print%2Fstyle,">web.archive.org/web/20121111131940www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050103883.html?nav=rss_print%2Fstyle, November 11, 2012, live, WEB,www.newsweek.com/id/135033?from=rss, Putting the Irony in ‘Iron Man’, Newsweek, May 1, 2008, May 2, 2008, David, Ansen,www.newsweek.com/id/135033?from=rss," title="web.archive.org/web/20080506063134www.newsweek.com/id/135033?from=rss,">web.archive.org/web/20080506063134www.newsweek.com/id/135033?from=rss, May 6, 2008, live, NEWS, Quint, Quint visits the Iron Man production offices! Art! Favreau speaks about sequels (?!?), casting and more!!!, Ain’t It Cool News, February 9, 2007,www.aintitcool.com/node/31525, February 10, 2007,www.aintitcool.com/node/31525," title="web.archive.org/web/20070212045133www.aintitcool.com/node/31525,">web.archive.org/web/20070212045133www.aintitcool.com/node/31525, February 12, 2007, live, By October 2008, Downey had agreed to star in two Iron Man sequels, as part of the Iron Man franchise, as well as The Avengers, featuring the superhero team that Stark joins, based on Marvel’s comic book series The Avengers.NEWS, Marc, Graser, Downey Jr. extends Marvel deal, Actor to star in ‘Avengers,’ ‘Iron Man 3’, Variety,www.variety.com/article/VR1117994793.html?categoryid=10&cs=1, October 28, 2008, October 28, 2008,www.variety.com/article/VR1117994793.html?categoryid=10&cs=1," title="web.archive.org/web/20081101031720www.variety.com/article/VR1117994793.html?categoryid=10&cs=1,">web.archive.org/web/20081101031720www.variety.com/article/VR1117994793.html?categoryid=10&cs=1, November 1, 2008, live, He 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.NEWS, Larry, Carroll, William Hurt Says New Hulk Is More Heroic, Reveals Iron Man Crossover Scene, MTV News,www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1579965/20080115/story.jhtml, April 22, 2008,www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1579965/20080115/story.jhtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20080123032855www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1579965/20080115/story.jhtml,">web.archive.org/web/20080123032855www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1579965/20080115/story.jhtml, January 23, 2008, live, After Iron Man, Downey appeared alongside Ben Stiller and Jack Black in the Stiller-directed Tropic Thunder. The three actors play a Hollywood archetype{{snd}}with Downey playing self-absorbed multi-Oscar-winning Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus{{snd}}as they star in an extremely expensive Vietnam-era film called Tropic Thunder. Lazarus undergoes a “controversial skin pigmentation procedure” in order to take on the role of African-American platoon sergeant Lincoln Osiris, which required Downey to wear dark makeup and a wig. Both Stiller and Downey feared Downey’s portrayal of the character could become controversial:{{blockquote|Stiller says that he and Downey always stayed focused on the fact that they were skewering insufferable actors, not African Americans. “I was trying to push it as far as you can within reality”, Stiller explains. “I had no idea how people would respond to it”. Stiller screened a rough cut of the film [in March 2008] and it scored high with African Americans. He was relieved at the reaction. “It seems people really embrace it”, he said.MAGAZINE, Adam B., Vary, First Look: Stiller’s new movie, Entertainment Weekly, March 5, 2008,ew.com/article/2008/03/09/first-look-stillers-new-movie/, October 2, 2019,web.archive.org/web/20191111015309/https://ew.com/article/2008/03/09/first-look-stillers-new-movie/, November 11, 2019, live, }}When asked by Harry Smith on CBS’s The Early Show who his model was for Lazarus, Downey laughed before responding, “Sadly, my sorry-ass self.“WEB,www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EU_vi6QgeY, Robert Downey Jr. on ‘Thunder’, CBS, August 18, 2008, August 21, 2008,www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EU_vi6QgeY," title="web.archive.org/web/20130802065746www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EU_vi6QgeY,">web.archive.org/web/20130802065746www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EU_vi6QgeY, August 2, 2013, live, Released in the United States on August 13, 2008, Tropic Thunder received good reviews with 83% of reviews positive and an average normalized score of 71, according to the review aggregator websites Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, respectively.WEB, Tropic Thunder (2008),www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tropic_thunder/, Rotten Tomatoes, July 10, 2014,www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tropic_thunder/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140617105502www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tropic_thunder/,">web.archive.org/web/20140617105502www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tropic_thunder/, June 17, 2014, live, WEB, Tropic Thunder Reviews,www.metacritic.com/movie/tropic-thunder, Meta Critic, July 10, 2014,www.metacritic.com/movie/tropic-thunder," title="web.archive.org/web/20150117110415www.metacritic.com/movie/tropic-thunder,">web.archive.org/web/20150117110415www.metacritic.com/movie/tropic-thunder, January 17, 2015, live, It earned US$26 million in its North American opening weekend and retained the number one position for its first three weekends of release. The film grossed $180 million in theaters before its release on home video on November 18, 2008. Downey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Lazarus.WEB, The 81st Academy Awards (2009) Nominees and Winners,www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/81st-winners.html, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, July 10, 2014,www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/81st-winners.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20141006101405www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/81st-winners.html,">web.archive.org/web/20141006101405www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/81st-winners.html, October 6, 2014, live, Opening in late April 2009 was a film Downey finished in mid-2008, The Soloist. The film was delayed from a November 2008 release by Paramount Pictures due to the studio’s tight end-of-year release schedule.WEB,themovingpicture.net/the-soloist-delayed-until-march-2009, The Soloist Delayed Until March 2009, The Moving Picture, March 8, 2010,themovingpicture.net/the-soloist-delayed-until-march-2009," title="web.archive.org/web/20110724101609themovingpicture.net/the-soloist-delayed-until-march-2009,">web.archive.org/web/20110724101609themovingpicture.net/the-soloist-delayed-until-march-2009, July 24, 2011, dead, Critics who had seen the film in 2008 were mentioning it as a possible Academy Award candidate.WEB, 2 high-wire performances that pandered to the academy but didn’t even get a nomination.,www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_oscars/2010/03/look_at_me_im_acting_here.html, Slate (magazine), Slate, May 12, 2014, Eric, Hynes, March 2010,www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_oscars/2010/03/look_at_me_im_acting_here.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20131202221608www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_oscars/2010/03/look_at_me_im_acting_here.html,">web.archive.org/web/20131202221608www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_oscars/2010/03/look_at_me_im_acting_here.html, December 2, 2013, live, Downey picked up an Academy Award nomination for the 2008 release year for his role in Tropic Thunder.NEWS, Todd, Leopold, ‘Button’ hooks 13 Oscar nominations, CNN, January 22, 2009,www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/22/oscar.nominations/index.html, January 22, 2009,www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/22/oscar.nominations/index.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20090123021901www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/22/oscar.nominations/index.html,">web.archive.org/web/20090123021901www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/22/oscar.nominations/index.html, January 23, 2009, live, The first role Downey accepted after Iron Man was Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s adaptation Sherlock Holmes. Warner Bros. released it on December 25, 2009.NEWS, Jacques, Steinberg, Robert Downey Jr. to Play Sherlock Holmes’, The New York Times, June 11, 2008,www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/arts/11arts-ROBERTDOWNEY_BRF.html?ref=arts, August 1, 2008,www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/arts/11arts-ROBERTDOWNEY_BRF.html?ref=arts," title="web.archive.org/web/20140311022341www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/arts/11arts-ROBERTDOWNEY_BRF.html?ref=arts,">web.archive.org/web/20140311022341www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/arts/11arts-ROBERTDOWNEY_BRF.html?ref=arts, March 11, 2014, live, The film set several box office records in the United States for a Christmas Day release, beating the previous record-holder, 2008’s Marley & Me, by nearly $10 million, and finished second to Avatar in a record-setting Christmas weekend box office. Sherlock Holmes ended up being the 8th highest-grossing film of 2009.NEWS, Grady, Smith, December 27, 2009,blog.theboxofficejunkie.com/2009/12/weekend-fix-avatar-and-sherlock-lead.html, Avatar, Sherlock Lead The Largest Weekend in Film History! Top 12 Earned $275 Million!, The Box Office Junkie, The Top 12 grossed an astonishing $264 million over the weekend frame – the largest weekend in film history, January 31, 2010, dead,blog.theboxofficejunkie.com/2009/12/weekend-fix-avatar-and-sherlock-lead.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20091231011638blog.theboxofficejunkie.com/2009/12/weekend-fix-avatar-and-sherlock-lead.html,">web.archive.org/web/20091231011638blog.theboxofficejunkie.com/2009/12/weekend-fix-avatar-and-sherlock-lead.html, December 31, 2009, WEB,boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2009&wknd=52&p=.htm, December 25–27, 2009 â€“ Weekend Studio Estimates, Box Office Mojo, January 31, 2010,boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2009&wknd=52&p=.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20100203153102boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2009&wknd=52&p=.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20100203153102boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2009&wknd=52&p=.htm, February 3, 2010, live, When Downey 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 Downey told me that Matt Damon was going to win so don’t bother preparing a speech”.AV MEDIA, Avengers Star Robert Downey Jr Wins Best Actor Motion Picture Musical or Comedy – Golden Globes 2010,www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7f1PiHi9Uc, Dick Clark Productions, First of all, I’d like to thank Susan Downey for telling me that Matt Damon was going to win so don’t bother preparing a speech. That was at about 10 am., August 19, 2010, July 10, 2014,web.archive.org/web/20150524160649/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7f1PiHi9Uc, May 24, 2015, live, File:Robert Downey Jr. - 2019 Disney Legends Awards Ceremony - D23 EXPO 2019 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Downey speaking at the 2019 Disney Legends Awards ]]Downey returned as Tony Stark in the first of two planned sequels to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, which released in May 2010. Iron Man 2 grossed over $623 million worldwide, becoming the 7th highest-grossing film of 2010.WEB,boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2010&p=.htm, 2010 Worldwide Grosses, Box Office Mojo, August 28, 2012,boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2010&p=.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20170222004148boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2010&p=.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20170222004148boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2010&p=.htm, February 22, 2017, live, Downey’s other commercial film release of 2010 was the comedy road film, Due Date. The movie, co-starring Zach Galifianakis, was released in November 2010‘Iron Man’ Robert Downey Jr. Joins Zack Galifianakis In The Todd Phillips Comedy ‘Due Date’ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409161755moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/07/27/iron-man-robert-downey-jr-joins-zack-galifianakis-in-the-todd-phillips-comedy-due-date |date=April 9, 2012 }}. MTV. Retrieved December 11, 2010. and grossed over $211M worldwide, making it the 36th highest-grossing movie of 2010.WEB,boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2010&p=.htm, 2010 Yearly Box Office Results, Box Office Mojo, December 17, 2011,boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2010&p=.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20170222004148boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2010&p=.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20170222004148boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=2010&p=.htm, February 22, 2017, live, Downey’s sole 2011 film credit was (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), which opened worldwide on December 16, 2011.WEB, Christina, Radish, Robert Downey Jr. ‘Sherlock Holmes: A game of Shadows’ Interview,collider.com/robert-downey-jr-interview-sherlock-holmes-2/, Collider, July 10, 2014, 2012,collider.com/robert-downey-jr-interview-sherlock-holmes-2/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140714224043collider.com/robert-downey-jr-interview-sherlock-holmes-2/,">web.archive.org/web/20140714224043collider.com/robert-downey-jr-interview-sherlock-holmes-2/, July 14, 2014, live, In 2012, Downey reprised the role of Tony Stark in The Avengers. The film received positive reviewsWEB, Marvel’s The Avengers (2012),www.rottentomatoes.com/m/marvels_the_avengers/, Rotten Tomatoes, August 28, 2012,www.rottentomatoes.com/m/marvels_the_avengers/," title="web.archive.org/web/20120826153317www.rottentomatoes.com/m/marvels_the_avengers/,">web.archive.org/web/20120826153317www.rottentomatoes.com/m/marvels_the_avengers/, August 26, 2012, live, and was highly successful at the box office, becoming the third highest-grossing film of all time both in the United States and worldwide.NEWS,www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-milestone-avengers-number-three-332331, Box Office Milestone: ‘The Avengers’ Becomes No. 3 Pic of All Time With $1.331 Billion, The Hollywood Reporter, Pamela, McClintock, June 2, 2012, August 28, 2012,www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-milestone-avengers-number-three-332331," title="web.archive.org/web/20120815033436www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-milestone-avengers-number-three-332331,">web.archive.org/web/20120815033436www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-milestone-avengers-number-three-332331, August 15, 2012, live, His film, the David Dobkin-directed dramedy The Judge,WEB, Kit, Borys, ‘Gossip Girl’ Star Leighton Meester Joins Robert Downey Jr. in ‘The Judge’,www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gossip-girl-star-leighton-meester-432915, The Hollywood Reporter, April 16, 2013, April 3, 2013,www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gossip-girl-star-leighton-meester-432915," title="web.archive.org/web/20130501231150www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gossip-girl-star-leighton-meester-432915,">web.archive.org/web/20130501231150www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gossip-girl-star-leighton-meester-432915, May 1, 2013, live, a project co-produced by his production company Team Downey, was the opening film at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014.WEB, #TIFF14 Opens With David Dobkin’s The Judge,www.tiff.net/whats-on/news-events/tiff14-david-dobkins-the-judge, dead,www.tiff.net/whats-on/news-events/tiff14-david-dobkins-the-judge," title="web.archive.org/web/20140911001855www.tiff.net/whats-on/news-events/tiff14-david-dobkins-the-judge,">web.archive.org/web/20140911001855www.tiff.net/whats-on/news-events/tiff14-david-dobkins-the-judge, September 11, 2014, Downey played Tony Stark again in Iron Man 3 (2013),WEB,splashpage.mtv.com/2010/10/20/iron-man-3-villains/, Iron Man 3 Has A Release Date, But What About A Villain?, October 20, 2010, December 24, 2010,splashpage.mtv.com/2010/10/20/iron-man-3-villains/," title="web.archive.org/web/20111105050349splashpage.mtv.com/2010/10/20/iron-man-3-villains/,">web.archive.org/web/20111105050349splashpage.mtv.com/2010/10/20/iron-man-3-villains/, November 5, 2011, live, (Avengers: Age of Ultron) (2015), (Captain America: Civil War) (2016), (Spider-Man: Homecoming) (2017),WEB,www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/robert-downey-jr-joins-spider-885829, Robert Downey Jr. Joins ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’, Kit, Borys, The Hollywood Reporter, April 21, 2016, April 21, 2016,www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/robert-downey-jr-joins-spider-885829," title="web.archive.org/web/20160421180921www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/robert-downey-jr-joins-spider-885829,">web.archive.org/web/20160421180921www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/robert-downey-jr-joins-spider-885829, April 21, 2016, live, (Avengers: Infinity War) (2018), and (Avengers: Endgame) (2019). Three of his scenes from The Avengers and Avengers: Endgame were used as archive footage in the first episode of the Disney+ series Loki.WEB, June 9, 2021, ‘Loki’ Director Kate Herron on Shooting New ‘Avengers: Endgame’-Era Footage,www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/loki-avengers-endgame-marvel-disney-1234965274/, June 10, 2021, The Hollywood Reporter, June 9, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210609195951/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/loki-avengers-endgame-marvel-disney-1234965274/, live, Downey hosted The Age of A.I., a YouTube documentary series released in 2019.WEB,deadline.com/2019/12/the-age-of-a-i-robert-downey-jr-hosts-youtube-documentary-series-watch-the-trailer-1202807411/, ‘The Age Of A.I.’: Robert Downey Jr. Hosts YouTube Documentary Series – Watch The Trailer, Pedersen, Erik, December 12, 2019, Deadline, en, January 18, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20191231191546/https://deadline.com/2019/12/the-age-of-a-i-robert-downey-jr-hosts-youtube-documentary-series-watch-the-trailer-1202807411/, December 31, 2019, live,

2020–present: Post-Marvel

In 2020, Downey starred in Dolittle, playing the titular character, depicted in the film as a 19th-century Welsh veterinarian who can communicate with animals. This was the second film from Team Downey. It was a box office disappointment and received negative reviews from critics, who called it “too long [and] lifeless”.WEB, D’Alessandro, Anthony, January 18, 2020, ‘Bad Boys For Life’ So Good With $68M+; ‘Dolittle’ Still A Dud With $30M+ – Box Office Update,deadline.com/2020/01/bad-boys-for-life-dolittle-1917-weekend-box-office-1202833726/, live,web.archive.org/web/20200120213703/https://deadline.com/2020/01/bad-boys-for-life-dolittle-1917-weekend-box-office-1202833726/, January 20, 2020, January 19, 2020, Deadline, en, In 2023, Downey portrayed antagonistic bureaucrat Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. He took a pay cut to work on the film, earning $4 million in lieu of his usual $10–20 million upfront salary.WEB, Lang, Brent, July 20, 2022, Inside Movie Stars’ Salaries: Joaquin Phoenix Nabs $20M for Joker 2, Tom Cruise Heads to Over $100M and More,variety.com/2022/film/features/movie-star-salaries-joaquin-phoenix-joker-2-tom-cruise-1235320046/, live,web.archive.org/web/20220720160107/https://variety.com/2022/film/features/movie-star-salaries-joaquin-phoenix-joker-2-tom-cruise-1235320046/, July 20, 2022, July 21, 2022, Variety (magazine), Variety, Downey would later describe Oppenheimer as “the best film” in which he has appeared to date.WEB, July 17, 2023, Robert Downey Jr hails Oppenheimer as his “best film”,www.digitalspy.com/movies/a44569013/robert-downey-jr-oppenheimer-best-film-career/, live,web.archive.org/web/20230720113845/https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a44569013/robert-downey-jr-oppenheimer-best-film-career/, July 20, 2023, July 20, 2023, Digital Spy, The biopic and Downey’s performance received critical acclaim.NEWS, Chang, Justin, ‘Oppenheimer’ doesn’t show us Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That’s an act of rigor not erasure.,www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-08-11/oppenheimer-atomic-bomb-hiroshima-nagasaki-christopher-nolan, August 23, 2023, Los Angeles Times, August 11, 2023, August 23, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230823033158/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-08-11/oppenheimer-atomic-bomb-hiroshima-nagasaki-christopher-nolan, live, WEB, Wong, Henry, 2023-07-21, ‘Oppenheimer’ is Robert Downey Jr.’s Best Role in Years,www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a44586992/oppenheimer-review-robert-downey-jr/, 2023-07-27, Esquire, en-GB, July 27, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230727233558/https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a44586992/oppenheimer-review-robert-downey-jr/, live, WEB, Moore, Sam, 2023-07-24, Robert Downey Jr. is at his best in Oppenheimer, which could spark a new chapter for the actor,www.yahoo.com/entertainment/robert-downey-jr-best-oppenheimer-170854603.html, 2023-07-27, Yahoo Entertainment, en-US, July 27, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230727150514/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/robert-downey-jr-best-oppenheimer-170854603.html, live, For the role, he won a Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.NEWS,www.washingtonpost.com/national/2024/03/10/supporting-actor-2024-oscars/1b62fa22-df40-11ee-95aa-7384336086f3_story.html, Robert Downey Jr. wins his first Oscar for supporting actor role in ‘Oppenheimer’, Yamat, Rio, March 10, 2024, The Washington Post, March 11, 2024, Also in 2023, Downey hosted the television series Downey’s Dream Cars, where he and his team converted some of Downey’s cars from gas to electric.MAGAZINE,variety.com/2023/scene/columns/robert-downey-jr-downeys-dream-cars-max-1235647585/, Robert Downey Jr.’s ‘Dream Cars’ Sees ‘Iron Man’ Star Using Technology to Convert His Cars to Electric — but He’s Not Trying to Be Tony Stark, Malkin, Marc, June 22, 2023, Variety (magazine), Variety, April 26, 2024, July 7, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230707203538/https://variety.com/2023/scene/columns/robert-downey-jr-downeys-dream-cars-max-1235647585/, live, Downey next starred in a 2024 television adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s historical satire novel The Sympathizer on HBO Max.WEB, Kroll, Justin, July 15, 2021, Robert Downey Jr. To Co-Star In Drama Series Adaptation Of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s ‘The Sympathizer’ For HBO And A24; Park Chan-wook Directing,deadline.com/2021/07/hbo-a24-partner-viet-thanh-nguyens-the-sympathizer-robert-downey-jr-1234793468/, July 15, 2021, Deadline Hollywood, en, April 28, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220428032552/https://deadline.com/2021/07/hbo-a24-partner-viet-thanh-nguyens-the-sympathizer-robert-downey-jr-1234793468/, live, Downey Jr. will next make his Broadway debut in McNeal, from playwright Ayad Akhtar, playing a gifted novelist with a difficult family life and a potentially problematic interest in artificial intelligence. Performances will start in September at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre.NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2024/05/07/theater/robert-downey-jr-ayad-akhtar-broadway.html, Robert Downey Jr. to Make Broadway Debut in Ayad Akhtar Play, The New York Times, May 7, 2024, May 7, 2024, Paulson, Michael, May 7, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240507160511/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/07/theater/robert-downey-jr-ayad-akhtar-broadway.html, live,

Other ventures

Music

Downey 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. In 2001, he appeared in the music video for Elton John’s song, “I Want Love”. He 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”.WEB, Christian, Schaeffer, Hump Day Slow Jam of the Week: Gladys Knight & the Pips, “Midnight Train to Georgia”,blogs.riverfronttimes.com/rftmusic/2009/02/hump_day_slow_jam_of_the_week_15.php, River Front Times, July 10, 2014, February 11, 2009, dead,blogs.riverfronttimes.com/rftmusic/2009/02/hump_day_slow_jam_of_the_week_15.php," title="web.archive.org/web/20140714123758blogs.riverfronttimes.com/rftmusic/2009/02/hump_day_slow_jam_of_the_week_15.php,">web.archive.org/web/20140714123758blogs.riverfronttimes.com/rftmusic/2009/02/hump_day_slow_jam_of_the_week_15.php, July 14, 2014, Downey’s most commercially successful recording venture to date (combining sales and radio airplay) has been his remake of the 1973 Joni Mitchell Christmas song “River”, which was included on the Ally McBeal tie-in album Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas, released in 2000; Downey’s character Larry Paul performs the song in the Ally McBeal episode “Tis the Season”.{{YouTube|rbiutiptei0|excerpt from “Tis the Season“}}. Retrieved March 6, 2013.

Business

On June 14, 2010, Downey and his wife Susan opened their own production company called Team Downey. Their first project was The Judge.WEB,thefilmstage.com/2010/06/15/downey-jr-launches-production-company-lines-up-steve-mcqueens-yucatan/, Downey Jr. Launches Production Company, Lines Up Steve Mcqueen Yucatan, The Film Stage, June 14, 2010, June 14, 2010, dead,thefilmstage.com/2010/06/15/downey-jr-launches-production-company-lines-up-steve-mcqueens-yucatan/," title="web.archive.org/web/20100619153033thefilmstage.com/2010/06/15/downey-jr-launches-production-company-lines-up-steve-mcqueens-yucatan/,">web.archive.org/web/20100619153033thefilmstage.com/2010/06/15/downey-jr-launches-production-company-lines-up-steve-mcqueens-yucatan/, June 19, 2010, In 2024, Downey launched a coffee company named Happy with Craig Dubitsky.MAGAZINE,people.com/robert-downey-jr-launches-new-happy-coffee-company-exclusive-8552168, Robert Downey Jr. Launches a Joyful New Coffee Company: ‘I Credit Coffee, in Part, for My Sanity’ (Exclusive), Mandell, Andrea, January 30, 2024, People (magazine), , February 18, 2024, February 18, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240218120844/https://people.com/robert-downey-jr-launches-new-happy-coffee-company-exclusive-8552168, live,

Personal life

Relationships and family

Downey started dating actress Sarah Jessica Parker in 1984 after meeting her on the set of Firstborn. They were both 18 and moved in together after eight weeks of dating. The couple separated eight years later in 1991 due to his drug addiction.NEWS,www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4490720a5620.html, Drugs ruined my relationships, Downey says, Stuff.co.nz, April 22, 2008, May 2, 2008,www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4490720a5620.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20080424114351www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4490720a5620.html,">web.archive.org/web/20080424114351www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4490720a5620.html, April 24, 2008, live, Downey married actress and singer Deborah Falconer on May 29, 1992, after a 42-day courtship. Their son was born in September 1993.WEB, Robert Downey Jr. Biography,www.people.com/people/robert_downey_jr/biography/, People (magazine), People, July 10, 2014, On September 7, 1993, the couple welcomes a son, Indio.,www.people.com/people/robert_downey_jr/biography/," title="web.archive.org/web/20160829073159www.people.com/people/robert_downey_jr/biography/,">web.archive.org/web/20160829073159www.people.com/people/robert_downey_jr/biography/, August 29, 2016, live, The strain on their marriage from Downey’s repeated trips to rehab and jail finally reached a breaking point; in 2001, in the midst of Downey’s last arrest and sentencing to an extended stay in rehab, Falconer left Downey and took their son with her.“Robert Downey Jr.” episode of Biography, 2007; viewed August 29, 2008. Downey and Falconer finalized their divorce on April 26, 2004.File:Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey @ 2010 Academy Awards.jpg|thumb|upright|Downey with wife Susan Downey at the 2010 Academy Awards ]]In 2003, Downey met producer Susan Downey (née Levin), an executive vice-president of production at Joel Silver’s film company, Silver Pictures, on the set of Gothika. Though Susan twice turned down his romantic advances, she and Downey did quietly strike up a romance during production.{{YouTube|oaKhn9VrAjw|The Oprah Winfrey Show}}, third segment, November 22, 2004. Retrieved March 23, 2009. Despite Susan’s worries that the romance would not last after the completion of shooting given that “he’s an actor; I have a real job”, the couple’s relationship continued after production wrapped on Gothika, and Downey proposed to Susan on the night before her thirtieth birthday. In August 2005, the couple were married, in a Jewish ceremony, at Amagansett, New York.WEB, Katy, Hall,people.com/celebrity/robert-downey-jr-marries-girlfriend/, Robert Downey Jr. Marries Girlfriend, August 27, 2005, October 2, 2019, People (magazine), People,web.archive.org/web/20190507203843/https://people.com/celebrity/robert-downey-jr-marries-girlfriend/, May 7, 2019, live, NEWS, Honie, Stevens,www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/no-joke-actors-saved-by-love/story-e6frewt9-1111117213508, No joke: actors saved by love, January 23, 2009, August 17, 2008, NEWS.com.au, A tattoo on one of his biceps reads “Suzie Q” in tribute to her.MAGAZINE,downeyunlimited.com/press/0newsweek03.htm, A Second Chance: Robert Downey Jr Interview, Barrett, Jennifer, Newsweek, November 15, 2003, November 2, 2016, dead,downeyunlimited.com/press/0newsweek03.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20130728082311downeyunlimited.com/press/0newsweek03.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20130728082311downeyunlimited.com/press/0newsweek03.htm, July 28, 2013, The Downeys’ first child, a son, was born in February 2012,NEWS,people.com/parents/robert-downey-jr-welcomes-son-exton-elias/, Robert Downey Jr. Welcomes Son Exton Elias, People, October 2, 2019, June 20, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200620062219/https://people.com/parents/robert-downey-jr-welcomes-son-exton-elias/, live, and their second, a daughter, was born in November 2014.TWEET, Yo. Susan. Me. Baby. Girl. November. Scorpio?, 486969251559768064, Robert Jr., Downey, RobertDowneyJr, July 9, 2014, July 10, 2014, WEB, Um. I don’t know if it’s a “man’s world”, but I’m certain women run it. Susan and I are therefore delighted to announce we are expecting a baby. Girl. November. rdj,www.facebook.com/robertdowneyjr/posts/315758295259309, Robert Downey Jr’s Verified Facebook, July 10, 2014, July 9, 2014,web.archive.org/web/20160127133244/https://www.facebook.com/robertdowneyjr/posts/315758295259309, January 27, 2016, live, WEB, Elizabeth, Leonard, Robert Downey Jr. Welcomes Daughter Avri Roel,people.com/parents/robert-downey-jr-welcomes-daughter-avri-roel/, People, October 2, 2019,celebritybabies.people.com/2014/11/05/robert-downey-jr-wife-susan-baby-girl/?xid=socialflow_facebook_peoplemag," title="web.archive.org/web/20141106002224celebritybabies.people.com/2014/11/05/robert-downey-jr-wife-susan-baby-girl/?xid=socialflow_facebook_peoplemag,">web.archive.org/web/20141106002224celebritybabies.people.com/2014/11/05/robert-downey-jr-wife-susan-baby-girl/?xid=socialflow_facebook_peoplemag, November 6, 2014, dead, Downey has been a close friend of Mel Gibson since they starred in Air America. Downey defended Gibson during the controversy surrounding The Passion of the Christ, and said “nobody’s perfect” in reference to Gibson’s 2006 DUI.Robert Downey Jr. Stands by Mel Gibson {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927154510www.hollywoodgrind.com/2007/02/07/robert-downey-jr-stands-by-mel-gibson/ |date=September 27, 2007 }} February 7, 2007 Gibson said of Downey: “He was one of the first people to call and offer the hand of friendship. He just said, ‘Hey, welcome to the club. Let’s go see what we can do to work on ourselves.’“MAGAZINE, Robert Downey Jr.? Call Him Mister Clean, Kevin, West, W (magazine), W, March 2007,www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2007/03/robert_downey_jr?currentPage=1, February 19, 2009, dead,www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2007/03/robert_downey_jr?currentPage=1," title="web.archive.org/web/20110718072725www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2007/03/robert_downey_jr?currentPage=1,">web.archive.org/web/20110718072725www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2007/03/robert_downey_jr?currentPage=1, July 18, 2011, In October 2011, Downey was being honored at the 25th American Cinematheque Awards; Downey chose Gibson to present him with his award for his life’s work and used his air time to say a few kind words about Gibson and explain why he chose him to present the award.WEB,www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/10666801-robert-downey-jr-stands-up-for-mel-gibson, June 20, 2013, Robert Downey Jr. Stands Up for Mel Gibson, dead,www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/10666801-robert-downey-jr-stands-up-for-mel-gibson," title="web.archive.org/web/20131020085851www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/10666801-robert-downey-jr-stands-up-for-mel-gibson,">web.archive.org/web/20131020085851www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/10666801-robert-downey-jr-stands-up-for-mel-gibson, October 20, 2013,

Sobriety

Downey says he has been drug-free since July 2003NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2&8dpc&oref=slogin, With ‘Iron Man,’ Robert Downey Jr. Winks at his Past and Looks to Transcend it, The New York Times, April 20, 2008, September 6, 2008, David, Carr,www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2&8dpc&oref=slogin," title="web.archive.org/web/20120516010350www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2&8dpc&oref=slogin,">web.archive.org/web/20120516010350www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2&8dpc&oref=slogin, May 16, 2012, live, 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 also a fight consultant in several of Downey’s movies.NEWS,www.mensfitness.com/life/entertainment/robert-downey-jr-he-was-skinny, Robert Downey Jr.: “He Was Skinny”, Men’s Journal, December 16, 2011, July 9, 2016,www.mensfitness.com/life/entertainment/robert-downey-jr-he-was-skinny," title="web.archive.org/web/20160710142818www.mensfitness.com/life/entertainment/robert-downey-jr-he-was-skinny,">web.archive.org/web/20160710142818www.mensfitness.com/life/entertainment/robert-downey-jr-he-was-skinny, July 10, 2016, live, WEB,www.mensjournal.com/magazine/robert-downey-jr-s-cosmic-punishment-20121017, Robert Downey Jr.’s Cosmic Punishment, July 9, 2016, dead,www.mensjournal.com/magazine/robert-downey-jr-s-cosmic-punishment-20121017," title="web.archive.org/web/20160630073010www.mensjournal.com/magazine/robert-downey-jr-s-cosmic-punishment-20121017,">web.archive.org/web/20160630073010www.mensjournal.com/magazine/robert-downey-jr-s-cosmic-punishment-20121017, June 30, 2016, Oram was Downey’s personal fight coordinator in (Avengers: Age of Ultron) and (Captain America: Civil War).WEB,comicbook.com/amp/2015/10/03/robert-downey-jr-s-fight-coordinator-eric-oram-on-the-unique-cha/?client=ms-android-optus-au, Robert Downey Jr.’s Fight Coordinator Eric Oram on the Unique Challenges of Captain America: Civil War, Comic Book, Russ, Burlingam, March 10, 2015, December 27, 2016,comicbook.com/amp/2015/10/03/robert-downey-jr-s-fight-coordinator-eric-oram-on-the-unique-cha/?client=ms-android-optus-au," title="web.archive.org/web/20161227131024comicbook.com/amp/2015/10/03/robert-downey-jr-s-fight-coordinator-eric-oram-on-the-unique-cha/?client=ms-android-optus-au,">web.archive.org/web/20161227131024comicbook.com/amp/2015/10/03/robert-downey-jr-s-fight-coordinator-eric-oram-on-the-unique-cha/?client=ms-android-optus-au, December 27, 2016, live, In December 2015, Downey was chosen as one of 91 people to be pardoned by the Governor of California Jerry Brown, for his prior drug offences. The pardon does not erase Downey’s criminal record, but it does allow him to serve on a jury.WEB,www.ca.gov/archive/gov39/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/12.24.15_Attested_Pardons.pdf, Pardon : Brian Keith Allison, Gov.ca.gov, March 27, 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190327203259/https://www.ca.gov/archive/gov39/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/12.24.15_Attested_Pardons.pdf, March 27, 2019, live, NEWS, Bozelko, Chandra, Robert Downey Jr. got a pardon but he still has a record,www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Robert-Downey-Jr-got-a-pardon-but-he-still-has-a-6726510.php#:~:text=Convicted%20felons%20are%20allowed%20to,to%20my%2013%20felony%20convictions., 2024-03-08, San Francisco Chronicle, en, March 8, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240308105028/https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Robert-Downey-Jr-got-a-pardon-but-he-still-has-a-6726510.php#:~:text=Convicted%20felons%20are%20allowed%20to,to%20my%2013%20felony%20convictions., live, Oram wrote a letter in support of Downey’s pardon to Governor Brown.NEWS,www.inquisitr.com/2656739/robert-downey-jr-beat-drug-addiction-with-kung-fu, Robert Downey Jr beat drug addiction with kung fu, Inquisitr, Mohit, Priyadarshi, December 25, 2015, December 27, 2016,www.inquisitr.com/2656739/robert-downey-jr-beat-drug-addiction-with-kung-fu/," title="web.archive.org/web/20170305112014www.inquisitr.com/2656739/robert-downey-jr-beat-drug-addiction-with-kung-fu/,">web.archive.org/web/20170305112014www.inquisitr.com/2656739/robert-downey-jr-beat-drug-addiction-with-kung-fu/, March 5, 2017, live, When asked on The Oprah Winfrey Show how he was able to make his sobriety stick this time, Downey said: “It’s really not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems. What’s hard is to decide to do it.“NEWS, Winfrey, Oprah, The Comeback Kid,www.oprah.com/oprahshow/the-comeback-kid/all, oprah.com, January 19, 2020, June 13, 2020,www.oprah.com/oprahshow/the-comeback-kid/all," title="web.archive.org/web/20200613142653www.oprah.com/oprahshow/the-comeback-kid/all,">web.archive.org/web/20200613142653www.oprah.com/oprahshow/the-comeback-kid/all, live, File:Oram with Downey Jr and Cheung 2005.jpg | thumb | Downey Jr. with William Cheung and Eric OramEric Oram

Religious beliefs

Downey has described his religious beliefs as “Jewish Buddhist”,NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/arts/music/21devr.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1, The New York Times, Robert Downey Jr.: The Album, November 21, 2004, May 22, 2010, Hilary, De Vries,www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/arts/music/21devr.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2," title="web.archive.org/web/20120422151731www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/arts/music/21devr.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2,">web.archive.org/web/20120422151731www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/arts/music/21devr.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2, April 22, 2012, live, and he is reported to have consulted astrologers.NEWS,timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/english/hollywood/news/Celebs-seek-guidance-from-the-stars/articleshow/12731100.cms, Celebs seek guidance from the stars, The Times of India, Anjali, Muthanna, April 20, 2012, February 11, 2015,timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/english/hollywood/news/Celebs-seek-guidance-from-the-stars/articleshow/12731100.cms," title="web.archive.org/web/20170109083231timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/english/hollywood/news/Celebs-seek-guidance-from-the-stars/articleshow/12731100.cms,">web.archive.org/web/20170109083231timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/english/hollywood/news/Celebs-seek-guidance-from-the-stars/articleshow/12731100.cms, January 9, 2017, live, In the past, Downey has been interested in Christianity and the Hare Krishna movement.

Political views

In a 2008 interview, Downey stated that his time in prison changed his political point of view somewhat, saying: “I have a really interesting political point of view, and it’s not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you can’t go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal. You can’t. I wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone else, but it was very, very, very educational for me and has informed my proclivities and politics ever since.“NEWS,www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=3&pagewanted=2&8dpc&oref=slogin, The New York Times, Been Up, Been Down. Now? Super., David, Carr, April 20, 2008, April 10, 2010,www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=3&pagewanted=2&8dpc&oref=slogin," title="web.archive.org/web/20111209223025www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=3&pagewanted=2&8dpc&oref=slogin,">web.archive.org/web/20111209223025www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=3&pagewanted=2&8dpc&oref=slogin, December 9, 2011, live, However, when asked about the quote in a 2015 interview to promote Avengers: Age of Ultron, he denied that his previous statement reflected any longstanding beliefs on his part, and stated: “I wouldn’t say that I’m a Republican or a liberal or a Democrat.“WEB, Robert Downey Jr full interview: star walks out when asked about past,www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALBwaO-rAsE&t=246, Channel 4 News, April 22, 2015, September 12, 2017,web.archive.org/web/20190626185818/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALBwaO-rAsE&t=246, June 26, 2019, live, Downey has shown support for the Democratic Party. He donated to Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign in 2012.WEB, Finke, Nikki, 2012-05-11, President Obama Talks Gay Marriage At George Clooney’s Record $15M Fundraiser,deadline.com/2012/05/president-obama-en-route-to-george-clooneys-home-for-15m-campaign-fundraiser-269829/, 2024-03-08, Deadline, March 8, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240308061728/https://deadline.com/2012/05/president-obama-en-route-to-george-clooneys-home-for-15m-campaign-fundraiser-269829/, live, In 2014, Downey attended a fundraiser for the Democratic Party and donated to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.WEB, Hillary Clinton fundraiser, Hollywood donors spur seven-figure haul for Democratic ‘super joint’ committee : Sunlight Foundation,sunlightfoundation.com/2014/12/04/hillary-clinton-fundraiser-hollywood-donors-spur-seven-figure-haul-for-democratic-super-joint-committee/, 2024-03-08, sunlightfoundation.com, March 8, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240308061728/https://sunlightfoundation.com/2014/12/04/hillary-clinton-fundraiser-hollywood-donors-spur-seven-figure-haul-for-democratic-super-joint-committee/, live, In 2016, Downey appeared in an Internet video urging the American public to vote against Donald Trump in the then-upcoming presidential election.NEWS, Bradshaw, Peter, September 22, 2016, Save the Day review: Joss Whedon’s anti-Trump celeb pile-up is amusing oddity,www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/22/save-the-day-review-joss-whedon-anti-trump-video-robert-downey-jr-scarlett-johansson, January 21, 2024, The Guardian, November 29, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20221129070358/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/22/save-the-day-review-joss-whedon-anti-trump-video-robert-downey-jr-scarlett-johansson, live, In 2020, Downey took part in a virtual fundraiser for Joe Biden’s Presidential Campaign, with fellow Avengers actors, and the vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.WEB, Maddaus, Gene, 2020-10-21, ‘Avengers’ Stars Encourage Fans to Vote Blue During Biden Fundraiser,variety.com/2020/film/news/avengers-fundraiser-biden-campaign-1234811460/, 2024-03-08, Variety, en-US, October 21, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201021020603/https://variety.com/2020/film/news/avengers-fundraiser-biden-campaign-1234811460/, live, WEB, Edmonds, Lizzie, 2020-10-21, Avengers assemble in virtual fundraiser for Joe Biden,www.standard.co.uk/news/us-politics/avengers-assemble-virtual-fundraiser-joe-biden-a4572401.html, 2024-03-08, Evening Standard, en, March 8, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240308061728/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/us-politics/avengers-assemble-virtual-fundraiser-joe-biden-a4572401.html, live, Downey serves on the board of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, a nonprofit organisation which advocates for criminal justice reform, to reduce incarceration, improve the outcomes of formerly incarcerated individuals, and build healthier communities.NEWS, O’Hara, Mara, June 20, 2015, Scott Budnick, Hollywood blockbuster producer, gave it all up to reform prisons,www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/20/scott-budnick-hollywood-producer-prison-reform, live,web.archive.org/web/20160919050414/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/20/scott-budnick-hollywood-producer-prison-reform, September 19, 2016, December 13, 2016, The Guardian,

Environmentalism

In January 2020, during the promotions of his film Dolittle, Downey 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“WEB, Pritchett, Liam, January 20, 2020, Robert Downey Jr. Goes Vegan,www.livekindly.co/robert-downey-jr-vegan/, June 19, 2020, LiveKindly, en-GB, June 21, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200621001440/https://www.livekindly.co/robert-downey-jr-vegan/, live, and believes he can do his part to contribute. Downey previously announced his opening of Footprint Coalition, an organization he launched to reduce carbon footprints around the world using advanced technology.WEB, Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Use Robotics and AI to Clean up the Earth,www.greenmatters.com/p/robert-downey-jr-footprint-coalition, June 19, 2020, Green Matters, June 5, 2019, en, August 6, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200806201425/https://www.greenmatters.com/p/robert-downey-jr-footprint-coalition, live, The Footprint Coalition promotes technologies that protect the environment such as French insect-farming startup Ynsect,WEB, October 6, 2020, Insect-farming startup Ÿnsect extends Series C funding to $372m,sifted.eu/articles/ynsect-robert-downey-jr/, February 23, 2021, Sifted, en-US, January 16, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210116031707/https://sifted.eu/articles/ynsect-robert-downey-jr/, live, the bio-based alternative to plastic manufacturer RWDC,WEB, RWDC,www.footprintcoalition.com/rwdc, February 23, 2021, Footprint Coalition, en, January 30, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210130084504/https://www.footprintcoalition.com/rwdc, live, and bamboo toilet paper manufacturer Cloud Paper.WEB, Cloud Paper,www.footprintcoalition.com/cloud-paper-1, February 23, 2021, Footprint Coalition, en, February 5, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210205023644/https://www.footprintcoalition.com/cloud-paper-1, dead, NEWS, October 6, 2020, Insect Farm Lures Robert Downey Jr. in $224 Million Fundraising, en, Bloomberg.com,www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-06/insect-farm-lures-robert-downey-jr-in-224-million-fundraising, February 23, 2021, February 8, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210208162458/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-06/insect-farm-lures-robert-downey-jr-in-224-million-fundraising, live, In January 2024, Downey stated that he was a pescetarian and had to give up his vegan diet due to low levels of vitamin B12, calcium and iron.WEB, DeAngelis, Daniel, January 23, 2024, Robert Downey Jr. Tried and Failed to Go Vegan: “It Just Doesn’t Work for Me”,www.eatingwell.com/robert-downey-jr-pescatarian-new-book-8548244, EatingWell, en-GB, January 23, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240123220135/https://www.eatingwell.com/robert-downey-jr-pescatarian-new-book-8548244, live, He co-authored Cool Food: Erasing Your Carbon Footprint One Bite at a Time which advocates a low-carbon plant-based diet to reduce carbon footprint.WEB, Buxton, Amy, 2022, Robert Downey Jr. Secures Book Deal For Carbon Footprint Reduction Manual,www.greenqueen.com.hk/robert-downey-jr-book/, Green Queen, en-GB, January 25, 2024, January 25, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240125130619/https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/robert-downey-jr-book/, live,

Acting credits and accolades

Downey has appeared in over 70 films over the course of his career.WEB,californiamuseum.org/inductee/robert-downey-jr/, Robert Downey Jr., California Museum, February 23, 2024, February 23, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240223155500/https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/robert-downey-jr/, live, According to Rotten Tomatoes, Downey’s most commercially successful films include Tropic Thunder, Oppenheimer, the Sherlock Holmes film series, and several Marvel Studios films, including Captain America: Civil War and the Iron Man and Avengers series.WEB,www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/robert_downey_jr, Robert Downey Jr., Rotten Tomatoes, February 23, 2024, January 4, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240104025137/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/robert_downey_jr, live, Downey’s films have grossed over $14 billion worldwide, making him the third highest-grossing actor of all time according to The Numbers.WEB,www.the-numbers.com/box-office-star-records/worldwide/lifetime-acting/top-grossing-leading-stars, Top 100 Stars in Leading Roles at the Worldwide Box Office, The Numbers (website), The Numbers, December 24, 2023, November 4, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181104125958/https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-star-records/worldwide/lifetime-acting/top-grossing-leading-stars, live, He was named Hollywood’s highest paid actor by Forbes from 2013 to 2015.WEB,www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2013/07/16/robert-downey-jr-tops-forbes-list-of-hollywoods-highest-paid-actors, Robert Downey Jr. Tops Forbes’ List of Hollywood’s Highest-Paid Actors, Forbes, July 16, 2013, August 1, 2013,www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2013/07/16/robert-downey-jr-tops-forbes-list-of-hollywoods-highest-paid-actors/," title="web.archive.org/web/20130731081424www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2013/07/16/robert-downey-jr-tops-forbes-list-of-hollywoods-highest-paid-actors/,">web.archive.org/web/20130731081424www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2013/07/16/robert-downey-jr-tops-forbes-list-of-hollywoods-highest-paid-actors/, July 31, 2013, live, WEB, Robehmed, Natalie, The World’s Highest-Paid Actors 2015: Robert Downey Jr. Leads With $80 Million Haul,www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2015/08/04/the-worlds-highest-paid-actors-2015-robert-downey-jr-leads-with-80-million-haul/, forbes.com, August 4, 2015,www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2015/08/04/the-worlds-highest-paid-actors-2015-robert-downey-jr-leads-with-80-million-haul/," title="web.archive.org/web/20160813124942www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2015/08/04/the-worlds-highest-paid-actors-2015-robert-downey-jr-leads-with-80-million-haul/,">web.archive.org/web/20160813124942www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2015/08/04/the-worlds-highest-paid-actors-2015-robert-downey-jr-leads-with-80-million-haul/, August 13, 2016, live, He has received various accolades, including two BAFTA Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and one Academy Award.MAGAZINE,ew.com/article/2001/03/13/julia-and-benicio-win-sag-awards/, Julia and Benicio win SAG awards, Angulo, Sandra P., March 13, 2001, Entertainment Weekly, November 20, 2023, April 20, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230420053304/https://ew.com/article/2001/03/13/julia-and-benicio-win-sag-awards/, live,

Discography

Studio album

• The Futurist (2004)

Soundtrack appearances{|class“wikitable plainrowheaders sortable” style@margin-right: 0;”

! scope=“col” |Year! scope=“col” |Song! scope=“col” |Soundtrack! scope=“col” class=“unsortable” |Notes! scope=“row” |1992Smile (Charlie Chaplin song)>Smile”Chaplin (film)>Chaplin OSTThe Futurist (Robert Downey Jr. album)>The Futurist! scope=“row” |1993|“The Star-Spangled Banner“|Heart and Souls OST|With B.B. King! scope=“row” rowspan=2|2000White Christmas (song)>White Christmas”Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas|With Vonda ShepardRiver (Joni Mitchell song)>River“|! scope=“row” rowspan=3|2001|“Every Breath You Take”Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life featuring Vonda ShepardSting (musician)>Sting|“Chances Are“|With Vonda Shepard|“Snakes“|! scope=“row” |2003|“In My Dreams”The Singing Detective (film)>The Singing Detective OST|! scope=“row” |2005|“Broken“|Kiss Kiss Bang Bang OST|On The Futurist

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{commons category|Robert Downey, Jr.}}

• {{IMDb name}}

{{NavboxesList of awards and nominations received by Robert Downey Jr.>Awards for Robert Downey Jr.|list ={{Academy Award Best Supporting Actor}}{{BAFTA Award for Best Actor 1980-1999}}{{BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor}}{{BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards}}{{Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actor}}{{Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor}}{{Disney Legends Awards 2010s}}{{GoldenGlobeBestActorMotionPictureMusicalComedy 2001-2020}}{{Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture}}{{GoldenGlobeSupportingActorTV 1990-2009}}{{Hasty Pudding Man of the Year}}{{Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor}}{{London Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year}}{{Maltin Modern Master Award}}{{MTV Movie Award for Best Hero}}{{MTV Movie Award for Best Fight}}{{Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor}}{{People’s Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor}}{{San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor}}{{San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor}}{{Saturn Award for Best Actor}}{{ScreenActorsGuildAward MaleSupportMotionPicture}}{{ScreenActorsGuildAward MaleTVComedy 1994-2009}}{{Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor}}}}{{Authority control}}