History Creator / RobertDowneyJr

* RomanceOnTheSet: Met his current wife, producer Susan Levin, while making ''Film/{{Gothika}}''.

''Film/TropicThunder'', in which he played Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus who is overly engrossed in his role as an African-American soldier, earned him his second Oscar nomination, in the category of Best Supporting Actor, which he lost to Creator/HeathLedger (but not before being lauded by Cuba Gooding, Jr. as the only man crazy enough -- and good enough -- to do blackface in the 21st century).

During the [[TheEighties 1980s]], he was a cast member on the NBC sketch show ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''[[note]]incidentally, Robert Downey, Jr. has an uncle named Jim Downey, who was on the show as a writer (one of the longest-running writers on the show, next to Rob Smigel and Lorne Michaels himself) and a one-season cast member during the show's fifth season from 1979 to 1980. Jim Downey only had one recurring character (Arthur Grayson, of the Grayson Moorehead Securities fake commercials in the mid-1990s) and two celebrity impressions (Dave Powers and George Bush, Sr. [back when Bush, Sr. was running for vice president to Ronald Reagan])[[/note]] during its 1985-1986 season [[note]]a season often cited as one of the worst in the show's history due to the young, inexperienced cast hired and the frustrated writers who couldn't work with them[[/note]]. Downey Jr.'s (who was credited as "Robert Downey" during his time on his show) recurring characters included Jimmy Chance (a pretentious movie critic) and Rudy Randolph III (son of Rudy Randolph Jr., played by Randy Quaid[[note]][[TheDanza whose real name, coincidentally, is Randall Rudy]][[/note]], the owner of an HonestJohnsDealership that sells flood-damaged furniture, clothes from foreign dictatorships, and stolen Rolls Royces). Downey Jr.'s celebrity impressions included Elvis Presley, Sean Penn, George Michael, John Cougar Mellencamp, John Oates[[note]]with Anthony Michael Hall as Daryl Hall[[/note]], Paul Simon[[note]]with Anthony Michael Hall as Art Garfunkel[[/note]], and Julian Lynch. Downey, Jr. is also one of three season 11 cast members (joining Jon Lovitz[[note]]who hosted a season 23 episode with musical guest Jane's Addiction[[/note]] and Damon Wayans[[note]]who hosted a season 20 episode with musical guest Dionne Farris, and special appearance by his ''In Living Color'' co-star, David Alan Grier[[/note]]) to come back and host ''SNL''[[note]]Downey, Jr. hosted during the show's 22nd season with musical guest Fiona Apple. His episode is notable because this was around the time Downey, Jr.'s drug problems were headline news and he took a week off from rehab just to host. There were a couple of sketches that addressed/made fun of it: Downey, Jr.'s monologue showed how he spent his summer vacation, which included scoring drugs from dealers, getting arrested, and having a "hot summer romance" with his cellmate, and a 1970s cop show parody where Downey, Jr. plays a cop who rants about how drug abusers shouldn't be forgiven for what they do to themselves, including ones who happen to be movie stars[[/note]]

* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse (2008-2019) as [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark / Iron Man]]:

** ''Film/{{Black Widow|2021}}'' [[note]]Through a repurposed DeletedScene from ''Civil War''[[/note]]

** ''Film/BlackWidow2021/ Black Widow'' [[note]]Through a repurposed DeletedScene from ''Civil War''[[/note]]

** ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021 What If...?'' (2021)

** ''Film/BlackWidow2021'' [[note]]Through a repurposed DeletedScene from ''Civil War''[[/note]]
** ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021 What If...? (2021)

** ''Film/BlackWidow2021''[[note]]Through a repurposed DeletedScene from ''Civil War''[[/note]]

In 2008, Downey started playing the Creator/MarvelComics superhero [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark / Iron Man]] in the adaptation ''Film/IronMan1'', which kickstarted the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. His lauded interpretation of the role turned that grade-B comic book character into a pop-culture icon, defined the tone of the MCU, made him its biggest star and practically became his most iconic role. Not counting Creator/SamuelLJackson's ComicBook/NickFury, Tony Stark/Iron Man is the superhero that has appeared in the biggest number of films in that setting. And somehow, playing a SuperHero with undeniable talent and a substance abuse problem seemed to be natural for him.

He also redefined Literature/SherlockHolmes for the big screen in Creator/GuyRitchie's film series, with martial arts, dry wit and quirkiness combined with Ritchie's flair for slow motion and detailing flashbacks.

* OlderThanTheyLook: He's 54, but can easily pass as a decade younger (compounded by the fact that Tony Stark is canonically 5 years younger than he is... [[spoiler:at least until the second act of Endgame.]])

* PrettyBoy: Had boyish looks in his early days that made him portray these kind of characters. Later in his career, he's gotten to be a {{Hunk}}.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: His fellow MCU star Creator/ChrisPratt was criticized by fans for refusing to attend a fundraiser by Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden in October 2020 (while Pratt has not publicly supported any candidates in the 2020 election, he’s one of the most Republican-leaning cast members in the MCU). Downey was quick to defend Pratt from scores of angered fans.

** ''Film/BlackWidow2020''[[note]]Through a repurposed DeletedScene from ''Civil War''[[/note]]

Robert John Downey, Jr. (born April 4, 1965 in New York City, New York) is an American actor, film producer and musician. Downey made his screen debut at the age of 5 when he appeared in one of his father's films, ''Film/{{Pound}}'' (1970), and has worked consistently in film and television ever since.

* WagTheDirector: The MCU was supposed to further explore Tony Stark's alcoholism (as seen in ''Film/IronMan2'') but he nixed the idea, saying that it would have caused him to revisit a mindset that he'd worked hard to overcome. Tony's story arc was reworked to have him deal with PTSD and a never-ending need to be Iron Man at the expense of everything else. Given the fact that the original idea is exactly what happened on the film ''Film/LessThanZero'', and that role caused Downey to go from habitual user to full addict, it's probably for the best that Downey nixed it.

During the [[TheEighties 1980s]], he was a cast member on the NBC sketch show ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''[[note]]His uncle, Jim Downey, was a cast member on the show in the 1979-1980 season and, next to Rob Smigel (the voice of Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog and the man behind the TV Funhouse cartoons that aired on the short-lived sketch series ''Series/TheDanaCarveyShow'', ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', and the short-lived SubvertedKidsShow, ''TV Funhouse'') and Creator/LorneMichaels himself, is the longest-running writer this show has ever had. Jim Downey has since left the show in 2013)[[/note]] during its 1985-1986 season [[note]]a season often cited as one of the worst in the show's history due to the young, inexperienced cast hired and the frustrated writers who couldn't work with them[[/note]]. Downey Jr.'s (who was credited as "Robert Downey" during his time on his show) recurring characters included Jimmy Chance (a pretentious movie critic) and Rudy Randolph III (son of Rudy Randolph Jr., played by Randy Quaid[[note]][[TheDanza whose real name, coincidentally, is Randall Rudy]][[/note]], the owner of an HonestJohnsDealership that sells flood-damaged furniture, clothes from foreign dictatorships, and stolen Rolls Royces). Downey Jr.'s celebrity impressions included Elvis Presley, Sean Penn, George Michael, John Cougar Mellencamp, John Oates[[note]]with Anthony Michael Hall as Daryl Hall[[/note]], Paul Simon[[note]]with Anthony Michael Hall as Art Garfunkel[[/note]], and Julian Lynch. Downey, Jr. is also one of three season 11 cast members (joining Jon Lovitz[[note]]who hosted a season 23 episode with musical guest Jane's Addiction[[/note]] and Damon Wayans[[note]]who hosted a season 20 episode with musical guest Dionne Farris, and special appearance by his ''In Living Color'' co-star, David Alan Grier[[/note]]) to come back and host ''SNL''[[note]]Downey, Jr. hosted during the show's 22nd season with musical guest Fiona Apple. His episode is notable because this was around the time Downey, Jr.'s drug problems were headline news and he took a week off from rehab just to host. There were a couple of sketches that addressed/made fun of it: Downey, Jr.'s monologue showed how he spent his summer vacation, which included scoring drugs from dealers, getting arrested, and having a "hot summer romance" with his cellmate, and a 1970s cop show parody where Downey, Jr. plays a cop who rants about how drug abusers shouldn't be forgiven for what they do to themselves, including ones who happen to be movie stars[[/note]]

Robert John Downey, Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor, film producer and musician. Downey made his screen debut at the age of 5 when he appeared in one of his father's films, ''Film/{{Pound}}'' (1970), and has worked consistently in film and television ever since.

During the [[TheEighties 1980s]], he was a cast member on the NBC sketch show ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''[[note]]His uncle, Jim Downey, was a cast member on the show in the 1979-1980 season and, next to Rob Smigel (the voice of Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog and the man behind the TV Funhouse cartoons that aired on the short-lived sketch series ''Series/TheDanaCarveyShow'', ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', and the short-lived SubvertedKidsShow, ''TV Funhouse'') and Creator/LorneMichaels himself, is the longest-running writer this show has ever had. Jim Downey has since left the show in 2013)[[/note]] during its 1985-1986 season [[note]]a season often cited as one of the worst in the show's history due to the young, inexperienced cast hired and the frustrated writers who couldn't work with them[[/note]]. Downey Jr.'s (who was credited as "Robert Downey" during his time on his show) recurring characters included Jimmy Chance (a pretentious movie critic) and Rudy Randolph III (son of Rudy Randolph Jr., played by Randy Quaid[[note]][[TheDanza whose real name, coincidentally, is Randall Rudy]][[/note]], the owner of an HonestJohnsDealership that sells flood-damaged furniture, clothes from foreign dictatorships, and stolen Rolls Royces). Downey Jr.'s celebrity impressions included Elvis Presley, Sean Penn, George Michael, John Cougar Mellencamp, John Oates[[note]]with Anthony Michael Hall as Daryl Hall[[/note]], Paul Simon[[note]]with Anthony Michael Hall as Art Garfunkel[[/note]], and Julian Lynch.

During the [[TheEighties 1980s]], he was a cast member on the NBC sketch show ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''[[note]]His uncle, Jim Downey, was a cast member on the show in the 1979-1980 season and, next to Rob Smigel (the voice of Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog and the man behind the TV Funhouse cartoons that aired on the short-lived sketch series ''Series/TheDanaCarveyShow'', ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', and the short-lived SubvertedKidsShow, ''TV Funhouse'') and Creator/LorneMichaels himself, is the longest-running writer this show has ever had. Jim Downey has since left the show in 2013)[[/note]] during its 1985-1986 season, a season often cited as one of the worst in the show's history due to the young, inexperienced cast hired and the frustrated writers who couldn't work with them[[/note]]. Downey Jr.'s (who was credited as "Robert Downey" during his time on his show) recurring characters included Jimmy Chance (a pretentious movie critic) and Rudy Randolph III (son of Rudy Randolph Jr., played by Randy Quaid[[note]][[TheDanza whose real name, coincidentally, is Randall Rudy]][[/note]], the owner of an HonestJohnsDealership that sells flood-damaged furniture, clothes from foreign dictatorships, and stolen Rolls Royces). Downey Jr.'s celebrity impressions included Elvis Presley, Sean Penn, George Michael, John Cougar Mellencamp, John Oates[[note]]with Anthony Michael Hall as Daryl Hall[[/note]], Paul Simon[[note]]with Anthony Michael Hall as Art Garfunkel[[/note]], and Julian Lynch.

During the [[TheEighties 1980s]], he was a cast member on the NBC sketch show ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''[[note]]His uncle, Jim Downey, was a cast member on the show in the 1979-1980 season and, next to Rob Smigel (the voice of Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog and the man behind the TV Funhouse cartoons that aired on the short-lived sketch series ''Series/TheDanaCarveyShow'', ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', and the short-lived SubvertedKidsShow, ''TV Funhouse'') and Creator/LorneMichaels himself, is the longest-running writer this show has ever had. Jim Downey has since left the show in 2013)[[/note]] and had roles in a series of coming-of-age films associated with the Creator/BratPack. He was cast to read one of the letters in the 1987 film ''Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam'' before his rise to fame. ''Film/LessThanZero'' is particularly notable, not only because it was the first time Downey's acting would be acknowledged by critics, but also because the role pushed Downey's already-existing drug habit one step further. After ''Zero'', Downey started landing roles in bigger films, such as ''Film/AirAmerica'' and ''Film/{{Soapdish}}''. These higher-profile roles eventually led to his being cast as Creator/CharlieChaplin in the 1992 {{biopic}} ''Film/{{Chaplin}}'', for which he gained an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Actor.

* OlderThanTheyLook: He's 54, but can easily pass as a decade younger (compounded by the fact that Tony Stark is canonically 5 years younger than he is.)

->''"The truth is... I am Film/IronMan."''

* PrettyBoy: Had boyish looks in his early days that made him portray this kind of characters. Later in his career, he's gotten to be a {{Hunk}}.

** In a weird way ''Film/IronMan1'' was this for him. He had had a popular career before it, but after his legal and substance abuse problems he had become practically untouchable and was seen as something of a has-been. Then he was hired to play Tony Stark, and since then he has been one of the highest-earning actors in the world, and is practically inseparable from the role.