Robert Downey Jr. Car; A7 - manufactured by Audi ($68,300) NSX Roadster - manufactured by Acura ($130,000) R8 - manufactured by Audi ($115,900) GTI - manufactured by VW ($25,385) MUST READ: 10 Whopping Homes & Cars Of Celebrities That Will Amaze You! Robert Downey Jr.: Wife, Dating, Family & Friends Robert Downey Jr. With Wife Susan Levin. Robert and wife Susan Downey had their first child, Exton Elias Downey, on February 7, 2012. He weighing in at 7 lbs. And measuring 20 inches. He weighing in at 7 lbs. And measuring 20 inches.
Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965)[1] is an American actor. His career has included critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal difficulties, and a resurgence of commercial success in middle age. For three consecutive years from 2012 to 2015, Downey topped the Forbes list of Hollywood's highest-paid actors, and in 2008, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.[2][3] His films have grossed over $5.3 billion in North America and over $12.9 billion worldwide, making Downey the second-highest-grossing domestic box-office star and the highest-grossing worldwide box-office star of all time.[4][5]
Making his acting debut at the age of five, appearing in his father's film Pound (1970), Downey appeared in roles associated with the Brat Pack, such as the teen sci-fi comedy Weird Science (1985) and the drama Less Than Zero (1987). He starred as the title character in the 1992 film Chaplin, for which he earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. After being released in 2000 from the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison where he was incarcerated on drug charges, Downey joined the cast of the TV series Ally McBeal playing Calista Flockhart's love interest. The role earned him a Golden Globe Award. His character was terminated when Downey was fired after two drug arrests in late 2000 and early 2001. After his last stay in a court-ordered drug treatment program, Downey achieved sobriety.[citation needed]
Initially, bond completion companies would not insure Downey for roles in feature films. Mel Gibson, who had been a close friend to Downey since both had co-starred in Air America, paid the insurance bond for the 2003 film The Singing Detective.[6] Downey's performance in that film paved the way for his return to feature films including a role in the black comedy crime film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), the mystery thriller Zodiac (2007), and the satirical action comedy Tropic Thunder (2008); for the latter he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Downey went on to star as the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man in ten films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Iron Man (2008) and concluding with Avengers: Endgame (2019). He has also played the title character in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (2009), which earned him his second Golden Globe win, and its sequel (2011).
Early life and family
Downey was born in Manhattan, New York, the younger of two children. His father, Robert Downey Sr., is an actor and filmmaker, while his mother, Elsie Ann (née Ford), was an actress who appeared in Downey Sr.'s films.[7] Downey's father is of half Lithuanian Jewish, one-quarter Hungarian Jewish, and one-quarter Irish descent,[8][9][10][11] while Downey's mother had Scottish, German, and Swiss ancestry.[12][13][14] Robert's original family name was Elias which was changed by his father to enlist in the Army.[15] Downey and his older sister Allyson grew up in Greenwich Village.[16]
As a child, Downey was 'surrounded by drugs.' His father, a drug addict, allowed Downey to use marijuana at age six, an incident which his father later said he regretted.[16] Downey later stated 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.' Eventually, Downey began spending every night abusing alcohol and 'making a thousand phone calls in pursuit of drugs.'[17]
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 comedyPound (1970), and then at seven appeared in the surrealistGreaser's Palace (1972).[13] At the age of 10, he was living in England and studied classical ballet as part of a larger curriculum.[18][19] He attended the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in upstate New York as a teenager. When his parents divorced in 1978, Downey moved to California with his father, but in 1982, he dropped out of Santa Monica High School, and moved back to New York to pursue an acting career full-time.[20]
Downey and Kiefer Sutherland, who shared the screen in the 1988 drama 1969, were roommates for three years when he first moved to Hollywood to pursue his career in acting.[21]
Career1983â1995: Beginnings and critical acclaim
Downey began building upon theater roles, including in the short-lived off-Broadway musical American Passion at the Joyce Theater in 1983, produced by Norman Lear. In 1985, he was part of the new, younger cast hired for Saturday Night Live, but following a year of poor ratings and criticism of the new cast's comedic talents, he and most of the new crew were dropped and replaced.[20]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.'[22] That same year, Downey had a dramatic acting breakthrough when he played James Spader's character's sidekick in Tuff Turf and then a bully in John Hughes's Weird Science. He was considered for the role of Duckie in John Hughes's film Pretty in Pink (1986),[23] but his first lead role was with Molly Ringwald 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.[20][24]
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',[25] 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.[26]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, and Whoopi Goldberg.[27][28][29]
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 a way of carrying himself.[30] 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.[31]
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).[32][33][34] He starred in the 1994 films, Only You with Marisa Tomei, and Natural Born Killers with Woody Harrelson.[35][36] He then subsequently appeared in Restoration (1995), Richard III (1995), Two Girls and a Guy (1997),[37] as Special Agent John Royce in U.S. Marshals (1998), and in Black and White (1999).[38][39][40][41]
1996â2001: Career troubles
Downey at the premiere of Air America, 1990
From 1996 through 2001, Downey was arrested numerous times on charges related to drugs including cocaine, heroin, and marijuana[42] and went through drug treatment programs unsuccessfully, explaining 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 explained his relapses by claiming to have been addicted to drugs since the age of eight, due to the fact that his father, also an addict previously, had been giving them to him.[43]
In April 1996, Downey was arrested for possession of heroin, cocaine, and an unloaded .357 Magnum handgun while he was speeding down Sunset Boulevard. A month later, while on parole, he trespassed into a neighbor's home while under the influence of a controlled substance, and fell asleep in one of the beds.[44][45] He received three years of 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.[46]
After Downey missed another required drug test in 1999, he was arrested once more. Despite Downey's lawyer, John Stewart Holden, assembling the same team of lawyers that successfully defended O.J. Simpson during his criminal trial for murder,[43] 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 1999 arrest, all of Downey's film projects had wrapped and were close to release. He had also been hired for voicing the devil on the NBC animated television series God, the Devil and Bob, but was fired when he failed to show up for rehearsals.[47][48]
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 (spawned from the initial 1996 arrests) had qualified him for early release.[16] A week after his 2000 release, Downey joined the cast of the hit television series Ally McBeal, playing the new love interest of Calista Flockhart's title character.[49] His performance was praised and the following year he was nominated for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category and won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a mini-series or television film.[50][51] He also appeared as a writer and singer on Vonda Shepard's Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life album, and he 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.'[26] In January 2001, Downey was scheduled to play the role of Hamlet in a Los Angeles stage production directed by Mel Gibson.[52]
Before the end of his first season on Ally McBeal, over the Thanksgiving 2000 holiday, Downey was arrested 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.[53][54] 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.[55]
In April 2001, while he was on parole, a Los Angeles police officer found him wandering barefooted in Culver City, just outside Los Angeles. He was arrested for suspicion of being under the influence of drugs, but was released a few hours later,[56] even though tests showed he had cocaine in his system.[57] After this last arrest, producer David E. Kelley and other Ally McBeal executives ordered last-minute rewrites and reshoots and fired Downey from the show, despite the fact that Downey's character had resuscitated Ally McBeal's ratings.[58] The Culver City arrest also cost him a role in the high-profile film America's Sweethearts,[57] and the subsequent incarceration prompted Mel Gibson to shut down his planned stage production of Hamlet as well. 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 the 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.[16][59]
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 2005, but was unable to do so, because he could not get insurance on them, stating, '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.'[60]
In a December 18, 2000 article for People magazine entitled '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 his bipolar disorder was 'the reason he has a hard time staying sober. What hasn't been tried is medication and intensive psychotherapy'.[61] In the same article, Dr. Manijeh Nikakhtar, a Los Angeles psychiatrist and co-author of Addiction or Self-Medication: The Truth (ISBN978-1883819576), says 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.'[61] In an article for the March 2007 issue of Esquire, Downey told author Scott Raab 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.'[62] Downey flatly denied being 'depressed or manic' and 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.'[62]
2001â2007: Career comeback
Downey at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con International promoting Iron Man
After five years of substance abuse, arrests, rehab, and relapse, Downey was ready to work toward a full recovery from drugs, and a return to his career. In discussing his failed attempts to control his own 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.'[63] 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.'[63]
Downey got his first post-rehabilitation acting job in August 2001, lip-syncing in the video for Elton John's single 'I Want Love'.[64] 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'.[65]
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).[6] 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 his salary until after production wrapped as insurance against his addictive behavior. Similar clauses have become standard in his contracts since.[66] Silver, who was getting closer to Downey as he dated his assistant Susan Levin, also got the actor the leading role in the comedy thriller Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the directorial debut of screenwriter Shane Black.[67]
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, rotoscopedA Scanner Darkly (in which Downey plays the role of a drug addict), and Steven Shainberg's fictional biographical film of Diane Arbus, Fur, where Downey's character represented the two biggest influences on Arbus's professional life, Lisette Model and Marvin Israel.[68] 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.[69]
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.[70] The album received mixed reviews,[71][72] 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.[73]
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In 2006, Downey returned to television when he guest-starred 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.[74]
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.[75]
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.[76]
2008âpresent: Blockbuster films and further success
Downey promoting Iron Man in Mexico City in 2008
With 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:
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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.
ââBen Stiller, The 2008 Time 100, entry No. 60, 'Robert Downey Jr.'[77]
In 2007, Downey was cast as the title character in the film Iron Man,[78] 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'.'[79] 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.[44][80][81][82] For the role Downey had to gain more than 20 pounds of muscle in five months to look like he 'had the power to forge iron'.[83]
Iron Man was globally released between April 30 and May 3, 2008, grossing over $585 million worldwide[84] and receiving rave reviews which cited Downey's performance as a highlight of the film.[85][86][87] By October 2008, Downey had agreed to appear as Iron Man 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.[88] 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.[89]
After Iron Man, Downey appeared alongside Ben Stiller and Jack Black in the Stiller-directed Tropic Thunder. The three actors play a Hollywood archetypeâwith Downey playing self-absorbed multi-Oscar-winning Australian method actor Kirk Lazarusâas 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:
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.[90]
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'.[91]
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.[92][93] 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.[94]
Downey with Rachel McAdams at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International
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.[95] Critics who had seen the film in 2008 were mentioning it as a possible Academy Award candidate.[96] Downey picked up an Academy Award nomination for the 2008 release year for his role in Tropic Thunder.[97]
The first role Downey accepted after Iron Man was the title character in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. Warner Bros. released it on December 25, 2009.[98] 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 $10M, 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.[99][100] 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 (his wife and Sherlock Holmes producer) told me that Matt Damon (nominated for his role in The Informant!) was going to win so don't bother preparing a speech'.[101]
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 $623M worldwide, becoming the 7th highest-grossing film of 2010.[102]
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[103] and grossed over $211M worldwide, making it the 36th highest-grossing movie of 2010.[104] Downey's sole 2011 film credit was the sequel to the 2009 version of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which opened worldwide on December 16, 2011.[105]
In 2012, Downey reprised the role of Tony Stark in The Avengers. The film received positive reviews[106] and was highly successful at the box office, becoming the third highest-grossing film of all time both in the United States and worldwide.[107] His film, the David Dobkin-directed dramedy The Judge,[108] a project co-produced by his production company Team Downey, was the opening film at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014.[109] Downey played Tony Stark again in Iron Man 3 (2013),[110]Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017),[111]Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).[112]
Upcoming projects
Downey is scheduled to star in an upcoming Pinocchio film[113] and The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle. Downey will reprise his role as Holmes in a third film, scheduled for release on December 22, 2021.[114]
Other venturesMusic
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'.[115]
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'.[116]
Production company
On June 14, 2010, Downey and his wife Susan opened their own production company called Team Downey. Their first project was The Judge.[117]
Personal lifeRelationships and family
Downey started dating actress Sarah Jessica Parker after meeting her on the set of Firstborn. The couple later separated due to his drug addiction.[118]
He married actress/singer Deborah Falconer on May 29, 1992, after a 42-day courtship.[119] Their son, Indio Falconer Downey, was born in September 1993.[120] 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.[119] Downey and Falconer finalized their divorce on April 26, 2004.
Downey and his wife Susan at the 2010 Academy Awards
In 2003, Downey met producer Susan Levin, an Executive Vice President of Production at Joel Silver's film company, Silver Pictures on the set of Gothika.[6] Downey and Susan quietly struck up a romance during production, though Susan turned down his romantic advances twice.[121] Despite Susan's worries that the romance would not last after the completion of shooting because 'he's an actor; I have a real job',[121] the couple's relationship continued after production wrapped on Gothika, and Downey proposed to Susan on the night before her thirtieth birthday.[121] The couple were married in August 2005, in a Jewish ceremony at Amagansett, New York.[122][123] A tattoo on one of his biceps reads 'Suzie Q' in tribute to her.[124] Their first child, a son, was born in February 2012,[125] their second child, a daughter, was born in November 2014.[126][127][128]
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 DUI.[129] 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.'[130] 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.[131]
Sobriety
Downey maintains that he has been drug-free since July 2003,[132] and has 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 Chunkung fu,[26] the martial art he learned from Eric Oram, who is also a fight consultant in several of Downey's movies.[133][134] Oram was Downey's personal fight coordinator in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War.[135] In December 2015, Downey received a full and unconditional pardon from Governor of CaliforniaJerry Brown for his prior drug convictions.[136][137] Oram wrote a letter in support of Downey's pardon to Governor Brown.[138]
Religious beliefs
Downey has described his religious beliefs as 'Jewish-Buddhist',[139] and he is reported to have consulted astrologers.[140] In the past, Downey has been interested in Christianity and the Hare Krishna movement.[139]
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.'[141] 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.'[142]
Downey serves on the board of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition.[143]
In 2016, Downey appeared in an anti-Trump commercial with other celebrities encouraging people to register to vote in the 2016 election.[144]
Filmography and awardsDiscographyStudio album
Soundtrack appearances
References
External links
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Downey_Jr.&oldid=901474277'
Have you ever wondered how wealthy Robert Downey Jr. is? What might be Robert Downey Jr. net worth in 2019 considering he is the sixth highest grossing U.S box office star of all time having surpassed $9.6 billion? Robert Downey Jr. is a United States of America based box office actor, and besides acting, he can sing pretty well too. For three years between 2012 to 2015 Robert Downey Jr. has topped the list of the Hollywoodâs highest paid actors earning tens of millions annually.
It will be of interest to you to know that Robert Downey Jr. in each of his films thatâs The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Age of Ultron in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he takes the role of Iron Man have grossed over $500 million. Today we shall look at Robert Downey Jr. net worth in 2019 and even dig deeper and uncover for you a few things you probably donât know about Robert Downey Jr.
Contents
Biography & Wiki
Robert John Downey Jr. is the son of actress Elsie Ann and filmmaker and actor Robert Downey Sr. He was born in1965 in Manhattan and has an older sister by the name Allyson whom they grew up with in Greenwich Village.
He attended Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center then after the parents divorced moved with his father to California where he joined Santa Monica High School but dropped out later to pursue his acting career. When he was growing up at the age of 6, he was exposed to drugs by his father whom they took together with, and later Downey Jr. became an alcoholic addict which is something that took a toll on his later life.
Robert Downey Jr. Personal Life: Affair, Girlfriend, Married, Wife, Children & Family
Downey first date was an actress by the name Sarah Jessica Parker who left Downey due to his drug addiction problem. In 1992 he married to Deborah Falconer whom he had a son with, but in 2004 they divorced, drugs being the cause of their marriage breakup. In 2005 He married again producer Susan Levin and together they have a son and a daughter.
Professional Career
Downey started off his acting career back when he was a young boy, but it all started in 1983 when he was a cast on the musical American passion. In 1985 he was hired as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, but in 1986 he was dropped together with others due to poor rating. In 1987 things started getting better for him when he was given a role to play on the film Less Than Zero and that marked the beginning of bigger budget films such as Chances Are 1989, Soapdish 1991, The last Party, Only You 1994, U.S. Marshals 1998 among others.
Between 1996 and 2001 Downey drug addiction problem escalated and many times he got arrested for being in possession of heroin, marijuana, cocaine, and even guns. He has been jailed several times the worst one being in 1999.
Downey success came in 2008 when he took the lead role in the film Iron Man 2008, and upon its release, the film grossed $585 worldwide. Due to the film success he was part of the cast in Iron Man sequels Iron Man 2 2010, Iron Man 3, 2013 The Avengers, AvengersâAge of Ultron 2015, Captain America: Civil War 2016, Spiderman: Homecoming 2017 and he was a cast member in Avengers: Infinity War 2018 and an upcoming untitled Avengers film in 2019.
Singing Career
As a singer, Robert Downey Jr. released his debut studio album titled The Futurist in 2004 and it debuted to position 121 on Billboard 200 chart.
Awards & Achievements
On awards & achievements received by Robert Downey Jr, he has won 1 BAFTA Award, 2 Golden Globe Awards, 1 Kidsâ Choice Award, 1 MTV Movie Award, 5 Peopleâs Choice Awards, 3 Saturn Awards, 1 Golden Globe Awards, and 1 Screen Actors Guild Award.
Robert Downey Jr. Salary, Net Worth & Earnings
As of 2019, Robert Downey Jr. net worth is estimated to be around $350 million. In 2012 to 2015 Robert Downey Jr. was the highest paid actor, and currently, he is the sixth highest paid actor taking home around $48 million. The source of Robert Downey Jr, net worth is his earnings from the numerous films he has been part of. In total itâs reported that all his films have grossed over $9.6 billion making him the sixth highest grossing box office star in the United States.
7 Facts You Need To Know About Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. isnât a new name to us considering he has been on the words top grossing films such as Iron Man, The Avengers and at one time taking the throne as the highest paid actor before relinquishing the seat to the Rock. He has won the hearts of many with his outstanding performances especially on Marvel based films, and today we are going to look at a few things you probably donât know about Robert Downey Jr.
1. Though he is yet to win an Oscar, he was nominated for one in the Academy Award for best actor in the film Chaplin 1992.
2. When he was a child, he moved a lot due to the nature of his fatherâs job. He stayed at New York, Paris, London, Connecticut and many other places.
3. His very first job was to bus tables and working in a shoe store.
4. It was his father who introduced Downey to drugs.
5. The thing that helped Downey in overcoming drug addiction is Wing Chun a form of Kung Fu.
6. Back in 2008, he detained by the Japanese officials who restricted him from entering Japan, but after six hours he was allowed with a condition he will never return again.
7. To be part of Iron Man and to take the lead role he had to gain 30 pounds of muscle so that he could look like a man who can forge an iron.
Robert Downey Jr worth is a clear indication of how good he is in what he does best. For those who are into drugs let his life be a teaching to you since drugs can ruin your life completely.
Quick Summary
Rеаl Nаmе/Full Nаmе: Robert John Downey Jr.
Ðgе: 53 Years, Born on 4 April 1965
ÐеÑght: â5ft 8in (173 cm)
GÑrlfrÑеnd: N/A
WÑfе: Susan Downey (m. 2005), Deborah Falconer (m. 1992â2004)
СhÑldrеn: Indio Falconer Downey, Exton Elias Downey, Avri Roel Downey
Nеt Wоrth: $350 Million
Ð
оurÑе оf Wеаlth: American actor, Film producer, Composer and singer
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