American actor and producer whose career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of commercial success in middle age. From 2013 to 2015, he was listed by Forbes as Hollywood’s highest-paid actor. Downey portrayed the title character in the biopic Chaplin (1992), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. For his role in action comedy Tropic Thunder (2008) he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Downey is the younger of two children of Robert Downey Sr., an actor and independent filmmaker, and Elsie Ann (née Ford), an actress who appeared in Downey Sr.’s films. During his childhood, Downey had minor roles in his father’s films. He made his acting debut at the age of five, playing a sick puppy in the absurdist comedy Pound (1970).
His first lead role was with Molly Ringwald in The Pick-up Artist (1987). Because of this and other coming-of-age films Downey did during the 1980s, he is sometimes named as a member of the “Brat Pack.”
Downey was arrested on drug related charges for the third time in less than a month on 20 July 1996. He was sentenced to three years probation and public service after three months live-in rehab. Seemingly bent on self-destruction of a fine talent if not his well-being, he moved in and out of arrests and rehab for the next two years. On 8 December 1997 he was returned to jail for violating probation by failing to stay clean and sober. Psychiatrist Manijeh Mikakhtar has diagnosed Downey Jr. with bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. She concurred that his drug use had been “self-medicating,” and that he needed treatment, not punishment.
On 13 February 1998, he suffered a slight cut on his nose after fighting with another inmate, and was transferred to another jail in Monterey Park, California. He then entered an undisclosed rehab center for a 67-day stay. Upon serving his time, Downey returned to the screen with skilled performances. Things took a turn for the worse when, on 22 June 1999, Downey was sentenced to a stint in the L.A. County Jail’s rehab center after confessing in court that he had violated his probation. On 5 August 1999, his plight worsened even further when he was sentenced to two years in prison after revealing that rehab didn’t work, and that he just couldn’t kick his habit.
In an interview in January 1999, he came out with his bi-sexuality. In a later interview he declared that his claim was “manufactured” as he searched for his identity. Regarding his drug addiction, he told the judge that he felt that he was holding a loaded gun in his mouth – and he liked the taste of the metal.
In 2000, Downey completed his incarceration and returned to the small screen with five-episodes on the series Ally McBeal in October-November. He seemed to be back on track until an anonymous caller led police to a motel room in Palm Springs, California on 25 November 2000 at 9:00 PM. Sadly, Downey was found to be under the influence of a controlled substance and he was arrested for committing a felony. Released 26 November 2000 on $15,000 bail, the actor faced a jail term of one year to a maximum of six in a state prison for the felonies, if convicted. Downey pleaded innocent.
On 21 January 2001, he was awarded a Golden Globe as Best Supporting actor in a TV series for Ally McBeal. Two days later, model Deborah Falconer, 35, his estranged wife from 1996, sued for divorce. They have a son, Indio, born on 7 September 1993 in Los Angeles.
It looked like a definite conclusion to his career when Downey was arrested once more, on 24 April 2001 in Los Angeles while under the influence of a controlled substance; however, with his continuing good luck and public sympathy, he was assigned to rehab for 6 to 12 months, not jail, and on 16 July 2001 a judge ordered a continuation of his live-in drug treatment.
The actor married Susan Levin on 27 August 2005 in Amagansett, Long Island, New York in a ceremony that began at 6:30 PM. The couple met in 2002 and became engaged in November 2003. Susan gave birth to a son, named Exton Elias Downey, on 7 February 2012 at 07:24 AM in Los Angeles. Their daughter, Avri Roel, was born on 4 November 2014 at 3:22 AM in Los Angeles.
Link to Wikipedia biography
Link to Astrodienst discussion forum