Robert Downey Jr. facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Downey Jr.
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Downey in 2014
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Robert John Downey Jr.
April 4, 1965 New York City, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1970–present |
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Works
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Filmography |
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| Partner(s) | Sarah Jessica Parker (1984–1991) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) |
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| Awards | Full list |
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Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor. He is one of the highest-earning actors in the world. His movies have made over $14 billion globally. Robert Downey Jr.'s career has seen early success, a challenging period, and then a huge comeback in the 2000s.
In 2008, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. From 2013 to 2015, Forbes magazine listed him as Hollywood's highest-paid actor.
Robert Downey Jr. started acting at age five in his father's film Pound (1970). He later appeared in teen movies like Weird Science (1985) and Less than Zero (1987). In 1992, he played Charlie Chaplin in the movie Chaplin. For this role, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and won a BAFTA Award. He also joined the TV show Ally McBeal, where he won a Golden Globe Award.
In 2003, Downey starred in The Singing Detective. Mel Gibson helped him get the role. Downey then appeared in the comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), the thriller Zodiac (2007), and the action comedy Tropic Thunder (2008). For Tropic Thunder, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He became famous worldwide for playing Iron Man in ten films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This started with Iron Man (2008) and ended with Avengers: Endgame (2019). He also played Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes (2009), which won him another Golden Globe, and its sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011). Downey has also taken on serious roles in The Judge (2014) and Oppenheimer (2023). For his role as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer, he won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA Award.
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Early Life and Childhood Roles
Robert John Downey Jr. was born on April 4, 1965, in Manhattan, New York City. He is the younger of two children. His father, Robert Downey Sr., was an actor and filmmaker. His mother, Elsie Ann (née Ford), was an actress. Robert's father had Jewish and Irish roots, while his mother had Scottish, German, and Swiss family history. He and his older sister, Allyson, grew up in Greenwich Village.
As a child, Downey had small parts in his father's films. He first acted at age five, playing a sick puppy in the comedy Pound (1970). At seven, he appeared in the Western film Greaser's Palace (1972). When he was 10, he lived in England and studied classical ballet. As a teenager, he attended the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in New York.
When his parents divorced in 1978, Downey moved to California with his father. However, in 1982, he left Santa Monica High School and moved back to New York. He wanted to become a full-time actor.
Downey and actor Kiefer Sutherland were roommates for three years when Downey first moved to Hollywood. They shared the screen in the 1988 drama 1969.
Career Highlights
Early Acting Work (1983–1995)
Downey started his career with theater roles, including a musical play in 1983. In 1985, he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. He left after a year when the show wasn't very popular. That same year, Downey had a breakthrough in dramatic acting. He played a sidekick in Tuff Turf and a bully in John Hughes's Weird Science. He was considered for a role in Pretty in Pink (1986). His first main role was with Molly Ringwald in The Pick-up Artist (1987). Because of these and other coming-of-age films from the 1980s, he is sometimes called a member of the Brat Pack.
In 1987, Downey played Julian Wells in Less than Zero. He played a rich boy whose life becomes very difficult. Critics praised his performance. This role led Downey to films with bigger budgets and famous co-stars. These included Chances Are (1989) with Cybill Shepherd and Ryan O'Neal, Air America (1990) with Mel Gibson, and Soapdish (1991) with Sally Field and Whoopi Goldberg.
In 1992, he starred as Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin. He prepared a lot for this role, learning to play the violin and tennis with his left hand. He also had a coach to help him copy Chaplin's movements. This role earned Downey an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
In 1993, he appeared in Heart and Souls and Short Cuts. He also wrote a documentary about the 1992 presidential campaigns called The Last Party (1993). He starred in Only You and Natural Born Killers in 1994. He then appeared in films like Restoration (1995), Richard III (1995), and Home for the Holidays (1995).
Return to Acting (2001–2007)
After a break, Downey returned to acting in the mid-2000s. He took on many main and supporting roles. He was praised for his work in independent films like A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Good Night, and Good Luck, and A Scanner Darkly. He also appeared in Fur, a film about the photographer Diane Arbus. Downey also had roles in bigger movies like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Shaggy Dog.
On November 23, 2004, Downey released his first music album, The Futurist. He designed the cover art and the CD's track listing. The album received mixed reviews. In 2006, Downey said he probably would not make another album.
In 2006, Downey did voice acting for an episode of Family Guy. He had called the show's creators because his son was a fan. The producers created the character of Patrick Pewterschmidt, Lois Griffin's brother, for Downey to voice.
In 2007, Downey appeared in David Fincher's mystery thriller Zodiac. This film was based on a true story. He played Paul Avery, a journalist reporting on the Zodiac Killer case.
Global Success with Iron Man (2008–2019)
Before 2008, Downey had not starred in a huge "blockbuster" film. This changed when he starred in two very successful movies: Iron Man and Tropic Thunder.
In 2007, Downey was chosen to play Iron Man in the film Iron Man. Director Jon Favreau said Downey understood the character well. Favreau believed Downey would make Iron Man as popular as Johnny Depp made the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. For the role, Downey gained over 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of muscle in five months.
Iron Man was released in 2008 and earned over $585 million worldwide. Critics loved the film, and Downey's performance was a highlight. By October 2008, Downey agreed to star in two more Iron Man films and The Avengers. He first appeared as Tony Stark in a small role in The Incredible Hulk (2008). This helped connect the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
After Iron Man, Downey appeared with Ben Stiller and Jack Black in Tropic Thunder. Downey played Kirk Lazarus, a self-centered Australian actor. The film was released in August 2008 and received good reviews. It earned $180 million in theaters. Downey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role.
In 2009, Downey starred as Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie's film Sherlock Holmes. It was released on December 25, 2009. The film broke box office records for a Christmas Day release and was the 8th highest-grossing film of 2009. Downey won a Golden Globe for Best Actor for this role.
Downey returned as Tony Stark in Iron Man 2, released in May 2010. Iron Man 2 earned over $623 million worldwide, becoming the 7th highest-grossing film of 2010. His other film in 2010 was the comedy Due Date, co-starring Zach Galifianakis. This movie earned over $211 million worldwide. Downey's only film in 2011 was Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.
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In 2012, Downey played Tony Stark again in The Avengers. The film received positive reviews and was very successful, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of all time. His film The Judge, which his company Team Downey helped produce, opened the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014.
Downey continued to play Tony Stark in many Marvel films:
- Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Downey hosted The Age of A.I., a YouTube documentary series released in 2019.
Recent Work and Oppenheimer (2020–Present)
In 2020, Downey starred in Dolittle, playing Doctor Dolittle, a veterinarian who can talk to animals. This film was not very successful and received negative reviews.
In 2023, Downey played Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan's film Oppenheimer. He took a smaller salary to work on this movie. Downey later said Oppenheimer was "the best film" he had been in. The film and Downey's performance were highly praised. For this role, he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award, and other awards.
Also in 2023, Downey hosted the TV series Downey's Dream Cars. In this show, he and his team changed some of his cars from gas to electric.
Downey next starred in a 2024 TV show called The Sympathizer on HBO. He played five different bad guy roles representing the American establishment. His performance earned him an Emmy nomination. Downey Jr. also made his Broadway debut in the play McNeal in September 2024.
In July 2024, it was announced that Downey would return to the MCU in a new role. He will play Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom in the upcoming films Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
Other Ventures
Music Career
Downey has sung on several movie soundtracks, including for Chaplin, The Singing Detective, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. In 2001, he appeared in the music video for Elton John's song, "I Want Love".
He released his own CD in 2004 called The Futurist. While promoting his film Tropic Thunder, he and his co-stars Ben Stiller and Jack Black sang as back-up singers for Gladys Knight.
Downey's most successful song is his remake of the 1973 Joni Mitchell Christmas song "River". This song was on the Ally McBeal album Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas in 2000. Downey's character, Larry Paul, sang the song in an episode of Ally McBeal.
Business Ventures
On June 14, 2010, Downey and his wife Susan started their own production company called Team Downey. Their first project was the film The Judge. In 2024, Downey launched a coffee company called Happy with Craig Dubitsky.
Personal Life
Relationships and Family
Downey started dating actress Sarah Jessica Parker in 1984 after they met on the set of Firstborn. They broke up in 1991.
Downey married actress and singer Deborah Falconer on May 29, 1992. Their son was born in September 1993. They divorced on April 26, 2004.
In 2003, Downey met producer Susan Downey (née Levin) on the set of Gothika. Susan was an executive at a film company. They started a relationship during filming. Downey proposed to Susan the night before her thirtieth birthday. In August 2005, they got married in a Jewish ceremony. He has a tattoo on his arm that says "Suzie Q" for her. The Downeys' first child, a son, was born in February 2012. Their second child, a daughter, was born in November 2014.
Downey has been a close friend of Mel Gibson since they worked together in Air America. In 2011, when Downey received an award, he chose Gibson to present it to him.
Environmental Efforts
In January 2020, Robert Downey Jr. announced he decided to try a vegan diet. He did this to help with the climate crisis, saying he wanted to do his part. Downey also launched Footprint Coalition, an organization that aims to reduce carbon footprints using advanced technology. This group supports technologies that protect the environment, like insect farming and eco-friendly plastic alternatives.
In January 2024, Downey shared that he is now a pescetarian (eats fish but no other meat). He had to stop his vegan diet due to low levels of certain vitamins. He also co-wrote a book called Cool Food: Erasing Your Carbon Footprint One Bite at a Time. This book suggests a low-carbon plant-based diet to help the environment.
Filmography and Awards
Downey has appeared in over 70 films. His most successful films include Tropic Thunder, Oppenheimer, the Sherlock Holmes movies, and many Marvel Studios films. His movies have earned over $14 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. Forbes magazine named him Hollywood's highest-paid actor from 2013 to 2015.
Downey has also been in many critically praised films, such as "Sr.", Richard III, Short Cuts, Good Night, and Good Luck, and Oppenheimer. He has received many awards, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. He is one of the few actors to have received at least three Oscar nominations for acting.
Discography
Studio Album
- The Futurist (2004)
Soundtrack Appearances
| Year | Song | Soundtrack | Notes |
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| 1992 | "Smile" | Chaplin OST | On The Futurist |
| 1993 | "The Star-Spangled Banner" | Heart and Souls OST | With B.B. King |
| 2000 | "White Christmas" | Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas | With Vonda Shepard |
| "River" | |||
| 2001 | "Every Breath You Take" | Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life featuring Vonda Shepard | With Sting |
| "Chances Are" | With Vonda Shepard | ||
| "Snakes" | |||
| 2003 | "In My Dreams" | The Singing Detective OST | |
| 2005 | "Broken" | Kiss Kiss Bang Bang OST | On The Futurist |
Images for kids
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Robert Downey Jr.'s signature
See also
In Spanish: Robert Downey Jr. para niños
