Robert Downey Jr. facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Downey Jr.
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Downey at the 2014 San Diego Comic Con International, promoting Avengers: Age of Ultron
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| Born |
Robert John Downey Jr.
April 4, 1965 Manhattan, New York, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Deborah Falconer
(m. 1992; div. 2004) Susan Downey (m. 2005)
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| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Robert Downey Sr. Elsie Ann Ford |
Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. In 2008, Downey was named by Time magazine among the 100 most influential people in the world, and from 2013 to 2015, he was listed by Forbes as Hollywood's highest-paid actor. His films have grossed over $14.4 billion worldwide, making Downey the sixth-highest-grossing box office star of all-time.
At the age of five, he made his acting debut in Robert Downey Sr.'s film Pound in 1970. He subsequently worked with the Brat Pack in the teen films Weird Science (1985) and Less Than Zero (1987). In 1992, Downey portrayed the title character in the biopic Chaplin, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won a BAFTA Award. He joined the TV series Ally McBeal, for which he won a Golden Globe Award.
Downey gained global recognition for starring as Tony Stark / Iron Man in ten films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Iron Man (2008). He has also played the title character in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (2009), which earned him his second Golden Globe, and its sequel (2011).
Personal life
Downey was born in Manhattan, New York City, the younger of two children. His father, Robert Downey Sr., is an actor, writer, producer, cinematographer, and director of underground films, and his mother, Elsie (nee Ford), is also an actress and appeared in Downey, Sr.'s movies. His paternal grandfather was of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry and his paternal grandmother was of Irish Canadian and Hungarian Jewish ancestry. His mother is of Scottish, English, German, and Swiss German ancestry. His father was born "Robert Elias", and changed his last name to "Downey" (after his stepfather James Downey), when he was a minor and wanted to enlist in the Army. He and his older sister, Allyson, grew up in Greenwich Village.
Downey started dating actress Sarah Jessica Parker after meeting her on the set of a film. The couple later separated.
He married actress and singer Deborah Falconer on May 29, 1992, after a 42-day courtship. Their son, Indio Falconer Downey, was born in September 1993. Downey and divorced on April 26, 2004.
In 2003, Downey met producer Susan Levin, an Executive Vice President of Production at Joel Silver's film company, Silver Pictures on the set of Gothika. In August 2005, the couple were married, in a Jewish ceremony, at Amagansett, New York.
Their first child, a son named Exton Elias, was born in February 2012, and their second, a daughter named Avri Roel, was born in November 2014.
Downey has been a close friend of Mel Gibson since they starred in Air America.
Discography
Soundtrack appearances
| Year | Song | Soundtrack | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 2000 | "River" | Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas | |
| 2001 | "Every Breath You Take" | Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life Featuring Vonda Shepard | With Sting |
| 2001 | "Chances Are" | Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life Featuring Vonda Shepard | With Vonda Shepard |
| 2001 | "Snakes" | Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life Featuring Vonda Shepard | |
| 2003 | "In My Dreams" | The Singing Detective OST | |
| 2004 | "In My Dreams" | The Futurist | |
| 2005 | "Broken" | Kiss Kiss Bang Bang OST | On The Futurist |
Filmography
Movie
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Pound | Puppy | ||
| 1972 | Greaser's Palace | Unnamed Quasimodo-like child | ||
| 1975 | Moment to Moment | Himself | Uncredited; also co-producer Aka Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight |
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| 1980 | Up the Academy | Boy on Soccer Team | Uncredited | |
| 1983 | Baby It's You | Stewart | ||
| 1984 | Firstborn | Lee | ||
| 1985 | Tuff Turf | Jimmy Parker | ||
| 1985 | Girls Just Want to Have Fun | Punk Party Crasher | Uncredited | |
| 1985 | Weird Science | Ian | ||
| 1985 | Deadwait | Short | ||
| 1986 | Back to School | Derek Lutz | ||
| 1987 | The Pick-up Artist | Jack Jericho | ||
| 1987 | Less Than Zero | Julian Wells | ||
| 1988 | Johnny Be Good | Leo Wiggins | ||
| 1988 | Rented Lips | Wolf Dangler | ||
| 1988 | 1969 | Ralph Karr | ||
| 1989 | That's Adequate | Albert Einstein | ||
| 1989 | True Believer | Roger Baron | ||
| 1989 | Chances Are | Alex Finch | ||
| 1990 | Air America | Billy Covington | ||
| 1991 | Too Much Sun | Reed Richmond | ||
| 1991 | Soapdish | David Seton Barnes | ||
| 1992 | Chaplin | Charlie Chaplin | ||
| 1993 | Heart and Souls | Thomas Reilly | ||
| 1993 | The Last Party | Himself | Also writer | |
| 1993 | Short Cuts | Bill Bush | ||
| 1994 | Hail Caesar | Jerry | ||
| 1994 | Natural Born Killers | Wayne Gale | ||
| 1994 | Only You | Peter Wright / Damon Bradley | ||
| 1995 | Richard III | Earl Rivers | ||
| 1995 | Home for the Holidays | Tommy Larson | ||
| 1995 | Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree | Mr. Willowby | ||
| 1995 | Restoration | Robert Merivel | ||
| 1997 | Danger Zone | Jim Scott | ||
| 1997 | One Night Stand | Charlie | ||
| 1997 | Two Girls and a Guy | Blake Allen | ||
| 1997 | Hugo Pool | Franz Mazur | ||
| 1998 | The Gingerbread Man | Clyde Pell | ||
| 1998 | U.S. Marshals | Special Agent John Royce | ||
| 1999 | In Dreams | Vivian Thompson | ||
| 1999 | Friends & Lovers | Hans | ||
| 1999 | Bowfinger | Jerry Renfro | ||
| 1999 | Black and White | Terry Donager | ||
| 2000 | Wonder Boys | Terry Crabtree | ||
| 2002 | Lethargy | Animal therapist | Short | |
| 2003 | Whatever We Do | Bobby | Short | |
| 2003 | The Singing Detective | Dan Dark | ||
| 2003 | Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin | Charles Chaplin | ||
| 2003 | Gothika | Pete Graham | ||
| 2004 | Eros | Nick Penrose | Segment: "Equilibrium" | |
| 2005 | Game 6 | Steven Schwimmer | ||
| 2005 | Kiss Kiss Bang Bang | Harry Lockhart | ||
| 2005 | The Outsider | Himself | Documentary | |
| 2005 | Good Night, and Good Luck | Joseph Wershba | ||
| 2005 | Hubert Selby Jr | Narrator | Documentary | |
| 2006 | A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints | Dito Montiel | Also co-producer | |
| 2006 | The Shaggy Dog | Dr. Kozak | ||
| 2006 | A Scanner Darkly | James Barris | ||
| 2006 | Fur | Lionel Sweeney | ||
| 2007 | Zodiac | Paul Avery | ||
| 2007 | Lucky You | Telephone Jack | Cameo | |
| 2008 | Charlie Bartlett | Principal Nathan Gardner | ||
| 2008 | Iron Man | Tony Stark / Iron Man | ||
| 2008 | The Incredible Hulk | Post-credits scene | ||
| 2008 | Tropic Thunder | Kirk Lazarus / Sgt. Lincoln Osiris | ||
| 2009 | The Soloist | Steve Lopez | ||
| 2009 | Sherlock Holmes | Sherlock Holmes | ||
| 2010 | Iron Man 2 | Tony Stark / Iron Man | ||
| 2010 | Love & Distrust | Rob | Segment: "Auto Motives" | |
| 2010 | Due Date | Peter Highman | ||
| 2011 | Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | Sherlock Holmes | ||
| 2012 | The Avengers | Tony Stark / Iron Man | ||
| 2013 | Iron Man 3 | |||
| 2014 | Chef | Marvin | ||
| 2014 | The Judge | Hank Palmer | Also executive producer | |
| 2015 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Tony Stark / Iron Man | ||
| 2016 | Captain America: Civil War | |||
| 2017 | Spider-Man: Homecoming | |||
| 2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | |||
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | |||
| 2020 | Black Widow |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Saturday Night Live | Cast member | 18 episodes | |
| 1985 | Mussolini: The Untold Story | Bruno Mussolini | Mini-series | |
| 1996 | Saturday Night Live | Host | Episode: "Robert Downey Jr./Fiona Apple" | |
| 2000–02 | Ally McBeal | Larry Paul | 25 episodes | |
| 2005 | Family Guy | Patrick Pewterschmidt (voice) | Episode: "The Fat Guy Strangler" |
Video game
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Iron Man | Tony Stark | Iron Man's dialogue filled in by Stephen Stanton | |
| 2014 | Iron Man 3: The Official Game |
