Robert Downey Jr. is a musician and actor who was born on April 4, 1965 in New York City. The son of a cinematographer and a singer, he is Jewish on his father’s side as well as coming from a background of Irish heritage. He and his mother had appeared on several of his father’s films, like the absurdist comedy Pound in 1970. He was seven years old when his father cast him in the surrealist film Greaser’s Palace. Robert Downey Jr. was educated at the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in upstate New York. He moved to California with his father when his parents divorced, and briefly studied at Santa Monica High School. He eventually dropped out and returned to New York to become a professional actor.

Robert Downey Jr. joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, but only for one season. He did several impersonations of celebrities, like Elvis Presley, Sean Penn and George Michael. His breakthrough role came during the late 1980s, playing James Spader’s sidekick in Turf Turf. He was also the villain in the 1985 John Hughes film, Weird Science. His first lead role was opposite Molly Ringwald in The Pick-Up Artist two years later. He gave an acclaimed performance in Less Than Zero and starred as Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin, garnering him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. During the late 1990s to the early 2000s, Robert Downey Jr. was arrested numerous times for crimes related to drugs. He went through several drug treatment programs but went frequently into relapses, claiming to be addicted ever since he was eight years old. He returned to the mainstream playing Larry Paul in the series Ally McBeal. His character is that of another erstwhile boyfriend and lover of Ally’s. Robert Downey Jr. next starred in Gothika with Halle Berry, which led him to be cast in a number of leading and supporting roles. He was in Zodiac, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and the film adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel, A Scanner Darkly. In 2008, his career made a huge comeback when he was chosen to play the title role in the blockbuster hit Iron Man. He received rave reviews for his performance, which was the highlight of the film. His next projects were The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton, and Tropic Thunder with Ben Stiller and Jack Black.



(Photo courtesy of Randy Holmes)