Biography of Actor Robert Downey, Jr
The films of Downey’s young adulthood were more notable as being the typical adolescent moviegoing fare, ranging from Up The Academy to Back to School. He was a member of the cast of Saturday Night Live during their 1985-1986 season, leaving to return to feature films. Even then, his performance as Julian Wells in 1987’s Less Than Zero made him stand out.
That was followed by riveting performances in Soapdish in 1991 and an Academy Award-nominated performance as the lead role in Chaplin in 1992. Even 15 years after the film was released, Downey’s performance withstands the test of time, clearly demonstrating that his Academy Award nomination should have been an actual Academy Award.
Other, less notable roles followed, as Downey continued to be plagued by drug and alcohol problems throughout much of the 1990s. Multiple stints in rehab, and a horrifyingly drastic prison sentence, also followed.
In spite of his personal demons, however, Downey’s work continued to shine. He co-starred in 1994’s Natural Born Killers, and played a gay brother in the 1995 holiday hit Home For The Holidays.
Downey’s successive stints at sorting out his life continued to alternate with periods of prolific work. He appeared in the 2000-2001 season of Ally McBeal, only to be fired from the show later for yet additional drug-related woes.
As disheartening as this was for his fans, his attempts at sobriety afterwards seems to have been successful. Slowly returning to more interesting and challenging roles, not to mention a much more prolific pace, Downey appeared in Gothika in 2003, where he met his current wife, producer Susan Levin, whom he married in 2005.
The year 2005 also saw the release of Good Night and Good Luck, a film in which Downey played a supporting role as Joe Wershba, turning in a stellar performance as the secretly married Wershba on the staff of broadcasting legend Edward R. Murrow. The only disappointment here was in the industry’s lack of recognition. Having been passed over for the Academy Award in 1992, in 2005 Downey was shut out of the nominations altogether.
Gratefully, there will be many chances to right that wrong. Stronger and more prolific than ever, Downey has already had one film debut in 2006 (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, which appeared at Sundance), and has seven other films slated to wrap up or hit the screens. With a newfound zest in his personal and professional lives, Downey is a man to watch. At not quite 41 years of age, and in spite of his amazing work to date, his best performances may be yet to come.
