Robert Downey Jr. turned 50 on April 4th. Fifty years of struggles and successes have made him who he is today.
Robert Downey Jr. was born in Manhattan, New York to Robert Downey Sr. and Elsie Ann Ford. His father was an actor and filmmaker. His mother was an actress. Downey and his sister grew up in Greenwich Village. Their childhood was anything but typical. As a child, he was a witness to his father’s drug addiction. At a young age, Downey’s father introduced him to marijuana. Looking back, he claims the drug use became a way to bond with his father. He states, “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.”
In those early years, Downey’s father also introduced him to the world of acting. At 5 years old, he played a part in his father’s film “Pound” in 1970. This early exposure to the film industry, began his lifelong love for acting. In the 1980’s, Downey had roles in many “Brat Pack” films such as Weird Science (1985) and Less Than Zero (1987). In 1992, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the film Chaplin. He earned a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in the hit television series Ally McBeal. He played Ally McBeal’s (Calista Flockhart) romantic interest. Later his character was written out because of his drug related arrests.
After years of drug abuse, arrests, and serving time at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Downey finally achieved sobriety. He has been drug-free since July, 2003. His acting career was back on track. Many successful films followed, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) and Tropic Thunder (2008) earned him notable attention. Once again he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Tropic Thunder.
In 2008, Downey began his most recognizable role to date as Tony Stark’s Iron Man. He also had incredible success playing Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films in 2009 and 2011. To date, Downey has been in 6 movies that have each grossed $500 million worldwide. Avengers and Iron Man 3 have each earned over $1 billion. Currently, he is one of Hollywood’s highest paid actors. His earnings from June 2012 to June 2013 are estimated to be $75 million. Even so, without a doubt, his most important film was “Gothika”. It’s on this movie set that he met Susan Levin, an Executive Vice President of Production at Joel Silver’s film company, Silver Pictures.
Robert Downey Jr. was smittened, but his first attempts to woo Levin were unsuccessful. Eventually, Levin reciprocated his feelings and the two married on Feb. 7, 2012. On November 4, 2014 they became parents to a baby girl they named Avri Roel Downey. Downey credits his wife for helping him to recover from his drug and alcohol addictions. He shares, “There’s no understanding for me of the bigger picture in real time in a hands-on way with out her.” He adds, “Because it was the prefect, perfect, perfect matching of personalities and gifts.” He also credits his family, therapy, meditation, twelve-step recovery programs, yoga, and the practice of Wing Chun kung fu for keeping him drug-free since July, 2003.
Happy Birthday Robert Downey Jr.!! Here’s to many more years of happiness and good health!!