It is the 1960s. Imagine being the son or daughter to a filmmaker and an actress. As you grow up, you become exposed to drugs and alcohol that lead you into a downward spiral. Robert Downey Jr was born in Greenwich Village, New York. Greenwich Village is a neighborhood area on Manhattan Island where many aspiring artists and writers have lived.1 His parents constantly had friends over to their house for occasional gatherings, and most of those who came were actors and actresses who were considered hippies by many. There was mass distaste for hippies at the time, due mainly to their drug use, which they claimed was for creativity; thus, this negative view on the hippies eventually affected Downey and his family, given that drugs were easy to access with the coming and going of party guests. When he was only eight years old, Junior was offered some Marijuana by his father, and he did not realize the mistake he was making until it was too late.
By the time Robert was eight years old, he had witnessed drugs and alcohol as part of his normal childhood. He later understood it as a necessity within his family, only because his parents were constant users.2 Later, during his time as a young actor, he started to struggle with drug abuse and alcohol issues. In the film Less Than Zero, he played a crackhead character named Julian, and during the filming of the movie, he completed a treatment in rehab.3 When he played Charlie Chaplin in the film Chaplin, he received a lot of praise for it, however, he was still struggling with his emotions by using unhealthy coping mechanisms, particularly drugs. He met his first love, Deborah Falconer, in 1992. Deborah was also a drug addict, but she was not as heavily addicted to drugs as he was. They began to develop a connection, but during their first date, Robert’s family came in to stage an intervention. He was confronted about his drug abuse and they demanded that he seek treatment.4
In the mid 90’s, he changed his life by switching his addiction to heroin, leaving marijuana and cocaine in the past. This heroin was black-tar heroin, produced in Mexico. It was very addictive for drug users. In 1995, he played a gay son in the film Home for the Holidays, and he later admitted that he was high throughout the entire filming process. Director Jodie Foster wrote a letter to him to urge him to seek help, but Downey ignored the advice, since he convinced himself the drug abuse situation was under control. His heroin addiction affected his work life when he showed up late to the set or fell asleep; it also altered his appearance.5 Later, he got into trouble in 1996, when he was arrested. On June 23, 1996, he was pulled over for speeding and was under the influence. The police searched his car and found cocaine, heroin, and a handgun. He posted a bail bond of ten thousand dollars, and was released at night. On July 16, 1996, he was under the influence of drugs, again, but alcohol was involved. He had tried to go home that night, but he ended up at his neighbor’s home instead. He was then charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance and with trespassing. At the end of July in 1996, Robert Downey Jr appeared underweight and tired as he stood before Judge Lawrence Mira in his prison jumpsuit with his family and wife in the court room. It was at that moment that he became determined to beat his drug addiction after realizing that his drug issue was indeed horrible. His fans hoped that Robert’s sentence of several months in a supervised rehab facility the entire time with frequent drug tests and three years of probation would help save his career. He was unable to control himself with his addiction. When he was in the courtroom in 1999, he told the judge, “It’s like I have a loaded gun in my mouth and my finger’s on the trigger. And I like the taste of gunmetal.”6
The experience he had with heroin couldn’t compare to other addicts who were abusing different drugs like he did. While he recovered, he would experience cravings an addict would experience which felt overwhelming.7 He then took two years off from acting to focus on rehab. During his time in rehab, he spent some time thinking about his life. He thought about his personal background and past experiences. Then, he found a clear perspective on his life. He realized that he grew up feeling rebellious and that he had no idea what to do with himself, but knew he wasn’t happy with what life threw at him. At the end of rehab, he found positive outlets for his energy and rebellious nature.8
He tried to get more roles in different films, but that meant the producers had to pay more for insurance because of the risk he posed. This was specially difficult for him because he could not work without insurance, and what made it worse is that he could not get any without proving his reliability as an actor.9 In an interview in 2003, he said, “I’m less of an insurance risk than anybody I am going to work with for the next while because I am aware of my limitations.” After he said this, he lost a role in a Woody Allen film.10 Then things changed when he met with his friend, Mel Gibson. Gibson previously worked with Downey on a film known as Air America when Downey had alcoholism issues. They also worked together in a film when Mel Gibson played a psychiatrist and he helped Robert come back to the silver screen.11 Mel Gibson helped Robert come back to the film life. Gibson offered a starring role to Downey in a film he was producing known as The Singing Detective, and agreed to pay for Downey’s insurance policy out of pocket. After a long battle with drugs and alcohol, things were starting to go great. He received help in rehab and support from his wife and his friend Mel Gibson.12
In the award ceremony, Downey Jr paid tribute to their friendship and said, “when I couldn’t get sober, Mel helped me. He gave me food and roof when I needed the most and in return, he just asked me to do the same for another person.”13
Time passed and Robert Downey Jr did not suffer from a relapse, since he was building up his reputation from scratch. Between 2005-2007, he broke out ten different film performances, including a role in 2007 where he played a constant drinking journalist on the hunt of the killer in the Zodiac film. The best outcome from his new life was that he was able to spend more time with his son and appreciated the fact that he achieved a normal family life. “I feel like because I’ve finally gotten out of my own way, I can enjoy my reputation. Because for all intents and purposes, what I should be right now is this never-do-well, embittered, unemployable guy arguing with some hooker outside a Malibu hotel scrambling for a syringe, but I’ve got it really good.”14
He became Iron Man, a teacher, a doctor, and many more roles from numerous films. He smiles at the success he has earned from acting, such as winning Academy awards within the past couple of years. Despite the impact drugs had on him, he overcame them. Currently, he’s full of life after just starring in Dolittle, doing a YouTube documentary, and still thriving with his wife and kids.15
- Laurie Collier Hillstrom, Robert Downey Jr (Detroit, MI: Gale, 2011), 11. ↵
- Laurie Collier Hillstrom, Robert Downey Jr (Detroit, MI: Gale, 2011), 16. ↵
- A. Petruso and Laura Avery, Newsmakers 2007 Cumulation (Detroit, MI: Gale, 2008), 151. ↵
- Laurie Collier Hillstrom, Robert Downey Jr (Detroit, MI: Gale, 2011), 35. ↵
- Laurie Collier Hillstrom, Robert Downey Jr (Detroit, MI: Gale, 2011), 39. ↵
- Todd Howard, Recovering from Heroin Addiction (San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 2011), 81. ↵
- Todd Howard, Recovering from Heroin Addiction (San Diego, CA: Lucent Books 2011), 81. ↵
- Laurie Collier Hillstrom Robert Downey Jr (Detroit, MI: Gale, 2011), 57. ↵
- Laurie Collier Hillstrom Robert Downey Jr, (Detroit, MI: Gale, 2011), 60. ↵
- A. Petruso and Laura Avery, Newsmakers 2007 Cumulation (Detroit, MI: Gale, 2008),15. ↵
- St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, 2013, s. v. “Downey, Robert Jr (1965-)” by Janet Mullane and Thomas Riggs, 157. ↵
- Laurie Collier Hillstrom Robert Downey Jr (Detroit, MI: Gale, 2011), 60. ↵
- Ankita Mehta, “Robert Downey Jr. Asks Hollywood ‘Forgive My Friend’ Mel Gibson,” International Business Times, Winter 2011. https://www.ibtimes.com/robert-downey-jr-asks-hollywood-forgive-my-friend-mel-gibson-323691. ↵
- Laurie Collier Hillstrom Robert Downey Jr (Detroit, MI: Gale, 2011), 65. ↵
- Isobel Asher Hamilton, “YouTube’s new documentary demystifying artificial intelligence features Robert Downey Jr. and an AI baby,” Business Insider, December 20, 2019. https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-ai-documentary-series-hosted-by-robert-downey-jr-2019-12. ↵
This Post Has 51 Comments
Such a well written article! Very interesting and informative. I have obviously heard of Robert Downey Jr. prior, had did not know much. This article really portrayed the life behind the curtain of a “big-time” actor. I had no realization that he struggle with substance abuse. Even the most major names have imperfections in their lives. So great! Good job, thoroughly enjoyed reading your article.
I love Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, I think he played the character perfectly. I never knew that he struggled so much with drug abuse. I think it is amazing to see how far he’s come from the start of his career. I know that other actors that acted in the Marvel movies also had some rough pasts, so it is crazy to see how people that are seen as idols have rough pasts like normal people do. This was a very interesting and well written article.
Robert Downey Jr. is a very strong man for everything he went through in his life, literally growing up with drugs since he was little. That is crazy how so many people go through that and they become just like their parents and never recover. He did recover and make a better man out of himself for his wife and kids.
This is a very interesting article because I knew Robert Downey Jr. had some ups and downs but I was not sure of the extent of it. It is amazing to see someone going through something so tough such as a heroin addiction, make it through rehab to gain a new perspective and make such a great life for themselves.
I really enjoyed reading this article because I had no idea Robert Downing Jr. used to be a heroin addict. It’s so inspiring to hear that he was able to overcome it and star in an array of successful movies. Most people cannot get off heroin because of how bad the withdrawal symptoms are or they’ve just given up on life. Robert Downing Jr. made no excuses, crushed his rehab, and became the personable man that he is today.
Great Article! Robert Downey Jr has had many ups and downs of his acting career. I’m happy he decided to put forward his rehab before his acting career in order to better himself. Many young actors who start fame to early have had a habit of drug use and never coming back from it. He came back bigger than ever becoming one of my favorite hero’s in the biggest cinematic movies of the 21st century.
This is a great article! I knew that Robert Downey Jr. did have some struggles before landing his career and really making a name for himself but I never knew it was to this extent. Looking at him now, being such a great actor who has been in such historical roles like Iron Man you would never think that he would of gone through such hardships. But, I feel like many people tend to forget that famous people are still human just like us.
It is amazing how Downey Jr was able to pull himself out of this deep dark hole he dug himself into. I was aware of how young and hard of drugs he did when he started but this article showed us how vulnerable and sad his journey was. I find his story to be very admirable and almost unbelievable because of the fame he lives with. But he shows that anything is possible with pure dedication and staying true to yourself!
Amazing article! I had somewhat of a clue that he had a rough time before actually landing his career without any problems. But I was not aware of how bad it was until I read the article. It honestly proves that even stars have a rough time growing and make their way through fame. It’s surprising how at some point he gave up, but thanks to his friend he’s able to say that he overcame his struggles.
It’s crazy to hear how these stars and idols in the Marvel world specifically had such a tough time growing up. But, it shows that all these actors are humans and do make mistakes. He has a tough life but was able to pull his life together and excel in ways he probably didn’t think was even possible for himself. This was a very well written article that shows that everyone has flaws.