Forbes lists Robert Downey Jr. as Hollywood’s highest paid actor from 2013 to 2015. He was born in Manhattan, NY in 1965. He’s currently 57 years and has had a career in Hollywood since 1970. Downey was actually a child actor prodigy, most people do not know that. How did that happen?
Downey JR. Was A Child Actor Thanks To His Father
Robert Downey Jr. is the son of movie director Robert Downey Sr. and his wife, actress Elsie Downey, acting runs in Downey’s veins. Downey Jr’s first appearance on screen was as a puppy in his father’s film Pound in 1970. Robert Downey Sr., his father, is both a writer and a director whose work gained an underground following in the ’60s. Coming from a family that was this involved in films and the film business, it was almost impossible for Downey to do anything other than act because it was a major influence in the years as he grew up.
Downey Jr. Was Introduced To Drugs From His Father At Just 8 Years Old
It has been shared that Robert Downey Sr. introduced his son to the dangerous world of drugs when he was just eight years old. Robert Downey Jr.’s father offered him a marijuana joint and that is how he fell into his first cycle of drug addiction. He initially spent a year in jail in 1999 after spending four months two years before in 1997 for having drug on him, possession. Thankfully, he was finally able to sober up and break the addiction in 2002 after multiple trips to rehab facilities and multiple arrests as well. We are unsure of what drugs he used during this time.
Sarah Jessica Parker was one of his very first loves
Robert Downey Jr. and Sarah Jessica Parker first met on the set of the film “Firstborn” when they were both just 18 years old. They actually lived together for eight years prior to their break up, which ended in 1991. Downey has since admitted on multiple occasions that his behavior was the major cause of their separation. “I liked to drink, and I had a drug problem, and that didn’t jibe with Sarah Jessica because it is the furthest thing from what she is,” he also confessed to Parade in 2008.” She provided me a home and understanding. She tried to help me. She was so miffed when I didn’t get my act together.” After eight whole years of living together, I am sure that Sarah Jessica Parker did more than try. She did everything she could before she’d had enough.
He is the only SNL actor in History to have been nominated for an Oscar
Although a lot of other Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast members have made dozens of films both during and after their time at SNL, none of them, with the exception of Robert Dwney Jr., have been given honorable mentions by the Academy. A minimum of four ex-cast members have been nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar (Joan Cusack, Dan Ackroyd, Albert Brooks, and most recently Downey himself) and yet, still, Robert Downey Jr. is the only one with a Best Actor nomination, for his outstanding performance in the 1993 film Chaplin.
He Enjoys Martial Arts
Robert Downey Jr. is a devout martial artist and he spends a lot of his free time in the practice of a more rare form of martial arts known as Wing Chun. He began practicing Wing Chun (which is a concept-based Chinese martial art and form of self-defense) in the early 2000s and credits it as the source of his strength in overcoming his drug addictions. A practice that helped him develop willpower, strength and determination. In 2003, Robert Downey Jr. had a sudden realization and because of this he threw all of the drugs in his possession into the ocean signifying the official break of the addiction cycle and the end of his drug use. What a ceremony! Good for him.