Unveiling the Enigmatic Robert Downey Jr.: A Dive into Fascinating Facts
Robert Downey Jr., acclaimed for his charismatic performances, harbors a trove of intriguing facts. Delve into the life of this enigmatic actor, from his turbulent past to his stellar rise in Hollywood. Explore the captivating journey of the man behind the iconic roles.
The man who made Iron Man a global smash, the only reason Marvel rules the movies (really: there wouldn’t be an Avengers, nothing without his charisma and acting chops), and the most controversial but hilarious actor comic talent out there (his hysterically inappropriate Golden Globes 2011 speech Who can forget, where he joked about how female actors do their best work after sleeping with him), has completed half a century.
Now, while you stare at this bonus picture of our beloved superhero and think he’s clearly aging, we want to take a moment and appreciate RDJ’s obvious talent, as well as his many ups and downs. For that read the following information carefully.
- 1 RDJ was born on April 4, 1965 in New York City.
- 2 Entertainment is in his blood. RDJ had an early start who started acting at the age of five, when he played a puppy in the movie Pound (which was portrayed by his father Robert Downey, Sr. below).
- 3 His father, Robert Downey, Jr., is an actor, writer, producer, cinematographer and director who wrote and directed several underground films in the early 1960s, including the cult classic Putney Scope. RDJ grew up starring in his films from the 1970s Pound.
- 4 Now, the first thing most of you don’t know about RDJ is that he also started doing drugs. He was introduced to drugs when most children were starting first grade. He once said in an interview that when he was eight years old, his father offered him marijuana. But more on drugs later.
- 5 Flashing back to his childhood: RDJ studied ballet at Perry House School in London at the age of 10.
- 6 He is Elias. His real family name is Elias, his father changed it to Downey so he could join the army.
- 7 His parents divorced when he was only 11 years old.
- 8 Unsurprisingly, The Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows actor moved around a lot. He grew up in numerous places in the United States and Europe – Greenwich Village, New York; Connecticut; Paris, France; London, England; Woodstock, Vermont; Santa Monica, California.
- 9 RDJ attended Stage-Door Manor Performing Arts Training Center in New York and Santa Monica High School in California, though he dropped out in 1982 (age 17) to become an actor.
- 10 His first jobs included bussing tables at a Central Falls restaurant, working in a shoe store, and working as ‘living art’ in a notorious underground club area.
- 11 Downey Jr. is 5’8? / 1.73 meters tall.
- 12 RDJ got his big break at 20 when he joined the acclaimed Saturday Night Live sketch comedy team. But his tenure was short-lived. He was fired after a year due to poor audience ratings.
- 13 Downey’s first major role on the big screen was as a seductive womanizer in The Pick-Up Artist (1987), a romantic comedy co-starring Molly Ringwald written and directed by James Toback.
- 14 1987 in Less Than Zero (1987), in which he co-starred with Andrew McCarthy. Downey played the party-loving, cocaine-addicted Julian Wells in the film.
- 15 Unfortunately, that movie created a need for drugs. “Until that movie, I took my medication after work and on weekends,” he later explained. “Maybe I had a hang-over on set, but no more than a stuntman. It changed to less than zero. I was playing this junkie-fagot guy and it was like a ghost to me. Christmas Future. The character was an exaggeration for me. Then things changed, And in some ways, I became an exaggeration of that character. It lasted longer than it needed to last.”
- 16 Known for his alcohol abuse and drug use in his early years, this led to several court appearances and even prison terms. Robert cleaned up his act in 2003 when he had a sudden epiphany, causing him to throw all his drugs into the ocean.
- 17 Once, thinking that the house was his, he entered a neighbor’s house in a drunken state and fell asleep on the bed.
- 18 He dated Carrie Bradshaw for seven years: RDJ met Sarah Jessica Parker on the set of Firstborn, when they were both just 18. They lived together for a while before breaking up in 1991. They lived together for eight years.
- 19 Downey has since admitted that his behavior was responsible for their split. He told Parade in 2008, “I like to drink, and I had a drug problem, and it didn’t make fun of Sarah Jessica, because that’s the furthest thing from what she is.” She gave me a home and understanding. She tried to help me. She was very angry when I didn’t get my act together.”
- 20 RDJ later married Susan Downey in 2005. They met on the sets of Gothika. She was one of the producers of the film.
- 21 Although she finds him strange and rejects him twice, they have been married for nine years (they married on August 27, 2005) and have a son on the way. He credits Susan with helping him finally say goodbye to his addictive habits, and The Judge is the first film released by his production house. And, clearly, they are an adorable couple.
- 22 He and Susan had a son, Exton, on February 7, 2012, and a daughter, Avery, on November 4, 2014. He also had a son, Indio, with Deborah Falconer, whom he was married to from 1992 to 2004.
- 23 On 23 July 9, 2014, he announced via Facebook and Twitter that he and his wife were expecting a daughter in November. On November 4, Susan gave birth to a daughter, Avery Roel Downey.
- 24 His second wedding in 2005 was attended by 150 guests, including Keanu Reeves, Billy Joel and Sting.
- 25 His friends call him Bob.
- 26 He wanted the Mandarin to be the villain of the Iron Man movie from day one: RDJ told Jon Stewart on The Daily Show that he begged Marvel president Kevin Feige to make the Mandarin his hero in the first Iron Man movie, but Feige wanted to wait. Perfect time to introduce a legendary character.
- 27 In 2000, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Ally McBeal. He won another award for Best Actor in 2009 for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.
- 28 RDJ’s first Academy Award nomination came for his portrayal of film legend Charlie Chaplin in Richard Attenborough’s 1992 biopic Chaplin.
- 29 Elton John was kicked out of rehab for a day to shoot the video I Want Love.
- 30 RDJ kept many of the authentic vintage clothes Chaplin wore in the 1992 film.
- 31 Peter O’Toole is RDJ’s favorite actor.
- 32 He sings: And I don’t say just for fun. Downey released an album in 2004 titled The Futurist. It debuted at number 121 on Billboard’s album chart and sold only 16,000 copies in its first week.
- 33 But forget the stats, decide for yourself With Broken, the second track on the album and the theme to Downey’s 2005 film Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang RDJ has always had a talent for singing. In addition to releasing his own album, he actually sang while performing on Ally McBeal. 34 It was also featured on the Ally McBeal Christmas album.
- 34 He was named Sexiest Lawyer by People magazine in 2000 for his role as Ally McBeal (1997–2002).
- 35 He took daily drug tests while working on Two Girls and a Guy (1997), which he filmed for only 11 days.
- 36 He made an art video called Pieta with contemporary artist Sam Taylor-Wood which was later included in Taylor-Wood’s 2001/2002 Mute exhibition at the White Cube 2 art gallery in London.
- 37 RDJ once said that a tuna melt was his hangover cure.
- 38 He is the only SNL actor to be nominated for 39 Oscars. Although numerous SNL cast members have made several films during and after their tenure at SNL, they have rarely received the favor of the Academy. At least four former actors have been nominated for Best Supporting Oscars (Joan Cusack, Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks and most recently Downey himself), though RDJ is the only Best Actor nominee, having been nominated for his brilliant performance in 1993. Lead role in Chaplin.
- 39 He is a martial artist and spends much of his free time practicing Wing Chun.
- 40 RDJ participated in a concert hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center, a non-profit arts organization, on June 6, 2005, along with Lyle Lovett and Tom Jones.
- 41 In 2006, RDJ released a solo album titled The Futurist in 2004. Although he has contributed music to both film and television, the album marked his debut as a singer/songwriter and featured, in his words: “highbrow pop with jazz and classical influences.”
- 42 He could have played Ducky in Pretty in Pink.
- 43 He was included in People magazine’s 2009 annual list of Sexiest Men Alive.
- 44 Jail Time: RDJ has been arrested multiple times for possession of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin and has been in and out of rehab. He served nearly a year in prison in 2000 at a California substance abuse treatment facility and state prison.
- 45 He was considered for the role of Zaphod Beeblebrox in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005), but it eventually went to Sam Rockwell.
- 46 RDJ bought Chaplin’s house in 1988
- 47 In 1988, a few years before landing the role that won him such acclaim, RDJ was living as a young, wealthy and successful Hollywood actor. That year, Rolling Stone published a profile that was sometimes disturbing in light of what was known about his lifestyle. In it, his publicist revealed that he is in the process of buying a Spanish-Deco home that was originally built for Charlie Chaplin.
- 48 RDJ once shared a house with fellow artists Kiefer Sutherland and Billy Zane.
- 49 The last thing you didn’t know about RDJ is that he’s buried in his backyard. After filming Chaplin, RDJ buried the clothes he wore during the filming of 1987’s Less Than Zero as a means of symbolically breaking with his past brat pack past. He recounted the aftermath to GQ in 1993, saying.
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