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Robert Downey
as Iron Man
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Welcome to Youth Motivator. I would like to tell you the
very motivational biography of Robert Downey Jr.
He is one of the greatest, most famous and expensive actors
of Hollywood and acted in many blockbuster films.
Although Robert Downey appears very successful now, he
struggled a lot in his initial years due to alcohol and drug addiction.
His inspirational life story is very remarkable and is a
must read for everyone.
Robert Downey is widely popular for his role of Iron Man (Tony
Stark) in ten films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe from Iron Man (2008) to
Avengers: Endgame (2019).
His extraordinary acting skills, unique personality and
amazing attitude made him very successful actor and helped him to garner millions
of fans across the world.
Introduction-
Robert Downey is an American actor, producer and singer and
is popular for portraying the role of Iron Man.
He was born on April 4, 1965 in Manhattan, New York, U.S.
His father, Robert Downey Sr. was a cult film maker, director
and an actor while his mother, Elsie Ann was an actress.
As Robert Downey was born in a family associated with films,
his childhood was very different.
At the age of 10, he studied classical ballet while living
in England.
Since his childhood, Robert Downey was badly influenced by
the party atmosphere around him and walked the wrong path.
During his childhood, he played minor roles in his father’s
movies.
In 1970, at the young age of 5, Robert Downey made his
screen debut in his father’s film, Pound.
In this movie, he played the role of a sick puppy waiting to
get euthanized.
In 1972, Robert Downey acted in Greaser's Palace and this
film was also directed by his father.
In 1987, he got his first leading role in The Pick-up
Artist.
Getting recognised-
In 1992, Robert Downey played the lead role of Charlie
Chaplin in the movie Chaplin.
This movie earned him a nomination for Academy Award for
Best Actor but he lost the award to Al Pacino for the movie Scent of a Woman.
Robert Downey became the first Saturday Night Live cast
member to get nominated for an Oscar in a Leading Role category for his
applauded performance as Charlie Chaplin in the movie Chaplin.
This movie also helped him to get worldwide recognition for
his acting skills.
The wrong path-
As his father was a drug addict, Robert Downey grew up
surrounded by the drugs.
His father introduced him to drugs by passing him a joint
(cannabis) at a party and he got addicted to heroin after smoking crack.
Robert Downey tried marijuana when he was just 6 years old
and his father allowed him to do so.
Later, marijuana became a part of his daily life and he
started consuming it like a staple.
Robert Downey felt that using drugs together with his father
helped in their bonding and this allowed Robert Downey Sr. to express his love
towards him in the only way he knew how.
At that time, Robert Downey Sr. felt that it would be
insincere if he did not introduce his son to marijuana and so, he let Robert
Downey to smoke at such a young age.
Later, Robert Downey Sr. regretted introducing drugs to his
son.
When his parents got divorced in 1978, Robert Downey moved
to California to live with his father.
Later, in 1982 he moved back to New York after dropping out
of school to pursue acting career full-time.
When he first moved to Hollywood, Robert Downey was
roommates with Kiefer Sutherland for three years and both of them co-starred in
the 1998 movie, 1969.
Due to his drug addiction, Sarah Jessica Parker broke up
with him and later, he also got divorced from Deborah Falconer.
During that time, Robert Downey was also suffering from
bipolar disorder.
In 1987, he acted the role of a drug-addicted rich boy in the
film Less Than Zero, this role kick-started his career.
This movie mirrored Robert Downey’s real life and his
realistic performance earned him many positive reviews and offers from top
directors.
The value of friendship-
After struggling for many years with substance abuse,
arrests, legal troubles, rehab and relapse, Robert Downey needed someone’s help
to make a comeback and revive his film career.
The drug and alcohol addiction severely impacted both his
life and career and almost everyone believed that his acting career had come to
an end.
During that time, the film makers were hesitant to give him
a chance because of his habits.
Luckily, Robert Downey was helped by his best friend Mel
Gibson, an American actor and filmmaker to make a comeback.
In 1990, both of them became best friends after acting
together in the film Air America.
As Mel Gibson trusted Robert Downey, he paid his insurance
bond for the 2003 movie The Singing Detective.
In this movie, Robert Downey played a lead role.
This movie helped him in making comeback and reviving his
finances and acting career.
In 2005, Robert Downey was hired by Woody Allen for the film
Melinda and Melinda but he was unable to cast him in this film because he
failed to get insurance.
The success which he achieved in his initial career was
masked by his drug addiction and legal troubles.
The very bad year-
In 1995, Robert Downey started smoking crack cocaine and
black tar heroin.
His friends introduced him to these drugs and once he tried
them, he developed an urge to do drugs every 20 minutes.
The year 1996 turned out to be a very bad year for Robert
Downey, as in this year his drug use got out of control.
This made Sean Penn and Dennis Quaid to forcefully take Robert
Downey in a private plane to a rehabilitation centre in Tucson.
But three days later, he ran out of the rehabilitation
centre with only a water bottle and called his accountant for a plane ticket
home.
And Robert Downey returned home in a drunken state.
Just a few days later, he drove naked in a Porsche and was
high and throwing imaginary rats out of his car window.
During that time, Robert Downey was suffering from cocaine
psychosis.
Even though he behaved strangely, he did not get arrested.
Later, Robert Downey felt very embarrassed for his
behaviour.
His first arrest-
In April 1996, Robert Downey got arrested for the first time
for possessing heroin, cocaine, and an unloaded .375 magnum while speeding down
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles County, California.
And just a month later, he trespassed into the home of Bill
and Lisa Curtis under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Bill and Lisa Curtis were Robert Downey’s neighbours at Broad
Beach Road, Malibu, California.
He slept unconsciously in their eleven year old son's
bedroom.
When Lisa entered the room, she was surprised to see an
unknown man in her child’s bed.
She complained to the emergency phone number, 911 that there
was a strange man lying on her child’s bed in an unconscious state.
Robert Downey was charged for being under the influence of
drugs but luckily the family did not charge him for trespassing.
After getting arrested, he was sent to the detox centre in Marina
Del Rey.
But four days later, Robert Downey escaped from the bathroom
window of the detox centre and reached his friend’s house in Malibu.
Within four hours the security found him and took him to
jail.
Robert Downey failed many times while attempting to control
his drug addiction.
Getting repeatedly arrested-
The court ordered Robert Downey to undergo compulsory drug
testing but he missed one of the drug tests.
So, in 1997 he got arrested and was jailed for six months in
the Los Angeles County jail.
Robert Downey felt humiliated and embarrassed upon getting
imprisoned.
Here, he was assigned the task of scrubbing pizza pans and
was paid eight cents per hour.
Robert Downey used to sleep on a three inch thick mattress
and was given top bunk (bed) which he found difficult to climb up and down.
He shared his cell with four other inmates and his fellow
prisoners used to call him Mo’ Downey.
During this time in jail, Robert Downey was attacked by the
fellow inmates and woke up in a pool of his own blood.
This kind of incident occurred twice and he describes these
incidents as the worst things that had happened to him and he dislikes telling
about them.
In 1999, Robert Downey was once again arrested and was sentenced
to a three-year prison term at the Corcoran state prison in California after he
missed another drug test.
Once he explained his helplessness to a judge by relating
his condition like having a shotgun in his mouth and having his finger on its
trigger but having developing a taste for the gun metal.
This implies that Robert Downey was well aware of the
dangers of the drug addiction but was helpless in overcoming his addiction
because he developed a liking for the drugs.
An eye-opener-
The prison culture opened Robert Downey’s eyes to a lot of
things.
In the prison, his self-esteem hit rock-bottom because he
was considered as a menace to the society.
Initially, the atmosphere at the prison shocked Robert
Downey with its razor wire fences and correctional officers.
Later, he got to know that the job of the correctional
officers was to protect the society from the prisoners.
Robert Downey’s witty and humours nature helped him while he
was publically struggling with drug addiction.
He is a very light-hearted person, once he was granted permission
from the court to take leave from the rehab to host the Saturday Night Live and
he made fun of himself on the show in a light-hearted manner.
The change which couldn’t last long-
After completing his jail sentence in 1999, it appeared like
Robert Downey abandoned the drugs and started a new chapter in his life.
He was cast in Ally McBeal, a hit comedy-drama television
series and was highly praised for his work and even won a Golden Globe award.
But once again, Robert Downey started doing drugs as he could
not restrain himself from doing drugs for a long time.
In 2001, he was found roaming barefoot and later in a fetal
position in an alley behind a motel in Culver City, California.
Later, Robert Downey got arrested and subsequently got fired
from the Ally McBeal series.
Unfortunately, these developments made him bankrupt.
In 2003, a new chapter began in Robert Downey’s life when he
met Susan Levin.
He fell in love with Susan Levin, a film producer during the
filming of Gothika.
During that time, many production companies withheld 40 per
cent of Robert Downey’s salary until the production got completed as insurance
against his drug addiction behaviour.
He proposed to marry Susan Levin and she insisted that she
would only marry him if he gave up doing drugs.
The beginning of the best times-
So, after struggling for many years with arrests, drug
abuses, unsuccessful rehabs Robert Downey was ready to make a turn around and
in a spectacular way, he threw all his drugs into the Pacific Ocean.
He entered a 12-step rehab program which included therapy
sessions, meditation, practising Wing Chun Kung Fu.
Thanks to the 12-step rehab program and the support of Susan
Levin, Robert Downey completely abandoned drugs and later, he described this
journey as coming out of a 20 year old coma.
He made the strongest surprising comeback in Hollywood and
his film career got completely revived as he got clean.
In 2005, Robert Downey acted in the title role in Kiss Kiss
Bang Bang and his acting was very well praised.
The biggest turning point of his life-
In 2008, the biggest turning point in Robert Downey’s life
occurred when his two films, Iron Man and Tropic Thunder became blockbusters.
As Iron Man was a comic book character, playing that role
seemed very challenging.
For a comic book character to succeed in film it must
exactly replicate the character as in the comic books and it is very important
for comic book fans to get connected with the character shown on the screen.
Robert Downey felt deeply connected with the role of Iron
Man and experienced creative freedom while playing the role.
He noticed that the Iron Man movie portrayed his life like a
documentary and observed that it was happening to him.
Jon Favreau, the project director of Iron Man gave Robert
Downey a chance to act in the movie.
Jon Favreau strongly felt that only Robert Downey can do
full justice to the character of Iron Man, so he insisted the folks at Marvel
Studios to give him an opportunity.
His decision was later proved to be correct as Iron Man became
a blockbuster and grossed $585.2 million worldwide.
The huge success of Iron Man changed the life of Robert
Downey forever.
By this success, the production companies which were once
reluctant to give him a chance grew very excited to make film contracts with him.
The irreplaceable-
Without Robert Downey, the characters of Tony Stark and Iron
Man would have been nearly impossible.
Once in ACE Comic Con, Chris Evans who played the role of Captain
America opined that Robert Downey is irreplaceable and nobody could ever replace
him.
He also said that the role of Iron Man is very different
from the roles of Superman or Batman and it cannot find different incarnations.
Another blockbuster-
After Iron Man, Robert Downey acted in the title character
of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes.
This movie was released on December 25, 2009 and broke many
box office records in the United States.
This movie grossed over $524 million worldwide and Robert
Downey was awarded Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical
or Comedy.
He also acted in the sequel of Sherlock Holmes.
The success saga continues-
Later, Robert Downey appeared in many famous movies of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe like Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, The Avengers, Avengers:
Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man:
Homecoming, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant.
The most successful films of his career include Iron Man, Tropic
Thunder, Sherlock Holmes, Due Date, The Avengers and The Judge.
Robert Downey also released his debut studio album The Futurist
on November 23, 2004.
On June 14, 2010, Robert Downey and his wife, Susan Levin opened
their own production company by name, Team Downey.
Getting pardoned-
In December 2015, Governor of California Jerry Brown pardoned
Robert Downey for all his convictions because he came clean and was out of custody
for 10 years.
He was one among the 91 other people to get pardoned for the
criminal convictions.
Becoming the highest-paid actor-
In 2008, Robert Downey was paid $500,000 for Iron Man and
his salary multiplied many times for his other Marvel Cinematic Universe
movies.
He was paid a whopping $75 million for his role in the 2019
Avengers: Endgame.
From the years 2013 to 2015, Robert Downey was listed as the
Hollywood's highest-paid actor by Forbes.
His persistence and never give up attitude took him from
being unemployable to becoming one of the highest-paid actors in the world.
In 2016, Robert Downey lost his highest-paid actor title to Dwayne
Johnson (The Rock).
Once, he was earning just 8 cents per hour but now his net
worth is $300 million.
Even after attaining huge success, Robert Downey is a very
down to earth person.
An avid car lover-
Robert Downey owns a great collection of luxury cars which
includes an Audi A8, Audi A7, Mercedes-Benz Pagoda, Bentley Continental, Mercedes
SL550 Coupe Convertible, Nissan GTR, Ferrari California T, Porsche 993, Acura
NSX, Boss 302 Mustang, Audi e-tron GT concept, etc.
In many Iron Man movies, Robert Downey was shown driving an Audi
car.
The important life lessons-
Robert Downey’s biography is filled with many important life
lessons.
His life story states that it is completely fine to ask for
help during the difficult situations and you should not be ashamed for asking
help.
Robert Downey took the help of the 12-step rehab program to
overcome his insurmountable drug addiction.
Eventually, he was able to overcome his vices with his will
power and dedication.
It also important to remember that just because you hit the
bottom in your life does not mean that you have to stay there forever.
Robert Downey rose to the heights of success every time he
fell and this signifies the importance of getting up every time we fall down.
The best time is now-
It is never too late to change your life.
Robert Downey permanently changed his life when he was 38
years old by overcoming drug addiction.
Once he said that deciding whether or not to overcome a
problem or challenge is much difficult than actually overcoming it.
The power of persistence-
It is very easy to succumb to hopelessness during the
difficult times but when you persistently try to improve the situations, the
difficult times will pass with the passage of time.
The power of self-discipline and habits-
To overcome the bad habits, you should utilise the power of
self-discipline and habits.
Self-discipline is created with the habits which are
practised daily, so you must cultivate only good habits, the habits which will
take you towards your goals.
It is difficult to completely eliminate a bad habit but it
is much easier to replace it with a good habit.
Initially, you should use willpower and work daily to
replace your bad habits with good ones.
You might not always have strong willpower but when you
create good habits, they will propel you towards your goals and help you to
create your own destiny.
Robert Downey’s life story affirms that nothing is
impossible and you are the master of your destiny.
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