Robert Downey Jr.

COMING SOON!

He was Oscar-nominated for his role in Chaplin but is as famous an addict as an actor. Could the talented but troubled performer finally have overcome his personal demons?

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Robert Downey Jr
born: 04-04-1965
birth place: Greenwich Village, New York

Downey Jr moved to New York City, where he shared accommodation with his sister, whilst trying to get his acting career started. He took on a number of part-time jobs, including working as a restaurant busboy, working in a shoe store and performing in Soho underground nightclubs as ‘living art’. He had also joined his local theatre group and began to earn roles in off-Broadway theatre productions. An agent finally spotted Downey Jr and arranged for him to audition for Hollywood films.

Initially, Downey Jr found himself cast mainly in school-themed romantic comedies, such as ‘Baby It’s You’ (1983), ‘Firstborn’ (1984), ‘Weird Science’ (1985) and ‘Back to School’ (1986). Expanding into television at the age of 20, in 1985 he joined the cast of the ever-popular television series ‘Saturday Night Live’ (1975), but only for one season.

Downey Jr was offered increasingly substantial roles, alongside A-list actors. He played the lead in ‘The Pick-Up Artist’ (1987) with Molly Ringwald, Dennis Hopper and Harvey Keitel; co-starred with Cybill Shepherd and Ryan O’Neal in ‘Chances Are’ (1989); and starred with Uma Thurman in ‘Johnny Be Good’ (1988).

Finally achieving recognition for his acting, Downey Jr played Julian Wells, a rich college boy addicted to drugs, in ‘Less than Zero’ (1987) to critical acclaim. Shortly after starring with Sally Field and Kevin Kline in ‘Soapdish’ (1991), Downey Jr played the title role in Richard Attenborough’s ‘Chaplin’ (1992) for which he received an Academy Award nomination and won a BAFTA award for Best Actor. The star was beginning to shine.

After a six-week whirlwind romance, Downey Jr married Deborah Falconer on 29th May 1992. The couple had a son, Indio, on 7th September 1993. Downey Jr’s acting dreams were being realised and he began working with respected directors and producers. He starred briefly with his wife in Robert Altman’s collage of everyday Los Angeles life, ‘Short Cuts’ (1993), before being cast in the seminal Quentin Tarantino movie ‘Natural Born Killers’ (1994), directed by Oliver Stone. Proving he was adept at other genres, Downey Jr starred in Michael Hoffman’s period drama, ‘Restoration’ (1995), with Sam Neill and Meg Ryan.

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