Award-winning actor and musician Robert Downey, Jr. was born on April 4, 1965 in New York City. His first brush with acting came through his father, who directed several underground films. He took acting classes as a teenager, but it was only in 1982 when he decided to pursue a full-time acting career. After joining the cast of Saturday Night Live for just one season, he made his breakthrough film role in the 1985 drama Tuff Turf. He was initially known for his many coming-of-age films with the so-called Brat Pack, and was even considered by some critics as a member.
In 1987, Downey starred in Less Than Zero, where he played high school drug junkie Julian. His critically-acclaimed performance led to other, bigger film projects. In 1992, he played the title role in the biopic Chaplin, a role which he extensively prepared for. This led to him being nominated for an Oscar Best Actor award, losing out to Al Pacino. After several more films, his career started to collapse, as he struggled with substance abuse. A string of arrests and jail terms dotted Downey’s life from 1996 to 2001, and most of his roles started to slip away.
In 2000, Downey started to get back on his career, by joining the cast of the television series Ally McBeal. There, he played the role of Larry Paul, the new love interest of the title character (Calista Flockhart). Critics applauded his performance, and this led to him winning a Golden Globe award, and earning a nomination for an Emmy. Before his run on the show ended, however, he was arrested yet again for drug possession, and he disappeared from the spotlight again.
Downey slowly crept back to the scene in the mid-2000s, when he appeared in several mainstream and independent films: The Singing Detective, Gothika, Good Night, and Good Luck, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, among others. He also released an album, the jazz release The Futurist. It was only in 2008 when Downey made it big again, when he was surprisingly cast as the title character in the superhero flick Iron Man. The film received rave reviews, highlighting Downey’s spectacular portrayal of the role, despite his unlikely selection. He continued his return with the comedy film Tropic Thunder, whose performance has elicited some controversy. He followed this up by playing the titular character in 2009’s Sherlock Holmes and reprised his role as Iron Man for the sequels.
2012: The Avengers - Tony Stark/Iron Man
2011: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - Sherlock Holmes
2010: Due Date - Peter Highman
2010: Love & Distrust (video) - Rob (segment: "Auto Motives" by Lorraine Bracco)
2010: Iron Man 2 - Tony Stark/Iron Man
2009: Sherlock Holmes - Sherlock Holmes
2009: The Soloist - Steve Lopez
2008: Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness (video short) - Kirk Lazarus
2008: Tropic Thunder - Kirk Lazarus
2008: The Incredible Hulk - Tony Stark
2008: Iron Man (Video Game) - Tony Stark (voice)
2008: Iron Man - Tony Stark
2007: Charlie Bartlett - Nathan Gardner
2007: Lucky You - Telephone Jack
2007: Zodiac - Paul Avery
2006: Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus - Lionel Sweeney
2006: A Scanner Darkly - James Barris
2006: The Shaggy Dog - Dr. Kozak
2006: A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints - Dito
2005: Family Guy (TV series) - Patrick Pewterschmidt
2005: Good Night, and Good Luck. - Joe Wershba
2005: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Harry Lockhart
2005: Game 6 - Steven Schwimmer
2004: Eros - Nick Penrose (segment "Equilibrium")
2003: Gothika - Pete Graham
2003: The Singing Detective - Dan Dark
2003: Whatever We Do (short) - Bobby
2000-2002: Ally McBeal (TV series) - Larry Paul
2002: Lethargy (short) - Animal Therapist
2000: Auto Motives (short) - Rob
2000: Wonder Boys - Terry Crabtree
1999: Black and White - Terry Donager
1999: Bowfinger - Jerry Renfro
1999: Friends & Lovers - Hans
1999: In Dreams - Vivian Thompson
1998: U.S. Marshals - Special Agent John Royce
1998: The Gingerbread Man - Clyde Pell
1997: Hugo Pool - Franz Mazur
1997: Two Girls and a Guy - Blake
1997: One Night Stand - Charlie
1996: Danger Zone - Jim Scott
1995: Restoration - Robert Merivel
1995: Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree (TV short) - Mr. Willowby
1995: Home for the Holidays - Tommy Larson
1995: Richard III - Lord Rivers
1994: Only You - Peter Wright
1994: Natural Born Killers - Wayne Gale
1994: Hail Caesar - Jerry
1993: Short Cuts - Bill Bush
1993: Heart and Souls - Thomas Reilly
1992: Chaplin - Charles Spencer Chaplin
1991: Soapdish - David Seton Barnes
1990: Too Much Sun - Reed Richmond
1990: Air America - Billy Covington
1989: Chances Are - Alex Finch
1989: True Believer - Roger Baron
1989: That's Adequate - Albert Einstein
1988: 1969 - Ralph Carr
1988: Rented Lips - Wolf Dangler
1988: Johnny Be Good - Leo Wiggins
1987: Less Than Zero - Julian
1987: The Pick-up Artist - Jack Jericho
1986: America - Paulie Hackley
1986: Back to School - Derek Lutz
1985-1986: Saturday Night Live (TV series) - Various/George Michael/John Cougar Melloncamp/…
1985: Mussolini: The Untold Story (TV mini-series) - Bruno Mussolini
1985: Weird Science - Ian
1985: Tuff Turf - Jimmy Parker
1985: Deadwait (short)
1984: Firstborn - Lee
1983: Baby It's You - Stewart
1980: Up the Academy - Boy on Soccer Team
1972: Greaser's Palace
1970: Pound - Puppy
-Not to get all Michael Jackson on you, but I didn't really have a childhood. So I kind of fit it in between 28 and 37.
- I used to be so convinced that happiness was the goal, yet all those years I was chasing after it, I was unhappy in my pursuit. Maybe the goal really should be a life that values honor, duty, good work, friends, and family.
-I'm not a poster boy for good behavior and recovery in Hollywood. I'm just a guy who knows he has a lot to be grateful for.