ROBERT DOWNEY, JR.
Name: Robert Downey Jr.
Born: 4 April 1965 New York City, New York, United States
Robert John Downey, Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an Academy Award-nominated and
Golden Globe-winning American actor and musician. He became known during the
late 1980s and early 1990s after a series of well-reviewed performances in
Hollywood films. During a period of drug addiction in the late 1990s, Downey, Jr.
continued his acting career, appearing on the television series Ally McBeal.
More recent films include a number of supporting and lead film roles, in Good
Night and Good Luck, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Zodiac, and Iron Man.
Downey, Jr. was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elsie (nee Ford), a
dancer and singer, and Robert Downey Sr. (nee Elias), an actor, writer, producer,
cinematographer, and director of underground films. He has a sister,
Alison. Downey, Jr.'s mother was of German and Scottish descent, and his father
was of Irish and Jewish ancestry; Downey, Jr. has described his beliefs as "Jewish-Buddhist."
During his childhood, Downey, Jr. had a minor role as a puppy in his father's
film Pound (1970). As a teen, he attended Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts
Training Center in upstate New York. Downey, Jr. subsequently grew up in
California with his father. At the age of twenty, he joined the cast of
Saturday Night Live, but was a cast member for only one season. His SNL
recurring characters included Jimmy Chance, a hipster movie critic (paired with
Nora Dunn's Ashley Ashley) and Rudy Randolph III: Son of Randy Quaid's Rudy
Randolph Jr. He did a number of celebrity impersonations, including Elvis
Presley, George Michael, John Cougar Mellencamp, Sean Penn, Paul Simon, and John
Oates from Hall and Oates (Darryl Hall was played by Anthony Michael Hall).
He went on to star in The Pick-up Artist in 1987. The same year, he portrayed a
drug-addicted rich boy in Less Than Zero. In 1992, he starred as Charlie
Chaplin in Chaplin, a role which garnered him an Academy Award nomination for
Best Actor. His other films in the 1990s included Heart and Souls, Only You,
Natural Born Killers, and Restoration.
Many consider Downey jr. to be a member of the Brat Pack. Although he's not
recognized as an official member, Downey starred with Molly Ringwald, Anthony
Michael Hall, James Spader and Andrew McCarthy in several Brat Pack films.
In 1997, Downey. Jr. was arrested and jailed for missing mandatory court-imposed
drug tests. He was imprisoned at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility
and State Prison, Corcoran, between August 1999 and August 2000 for similar
offenses.
Following his release in 2000, Downey, Jr. joined the cast of the hit television
series Ally McBeal, playing Larry Paul, the new love interest of Calista
Flockhart's title character. He won a Golden Globe award and was nominated for
an Emmy Award. He also appeared as a writer and singer on Vonda Shephard's
Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life album and sang in a duet with Sting in an
episode of the series (a version of The Police's 1983 hit "Every Breath You Take").
Before the end of his first season on Ally McBeal, Downey, Jr. had relapsed into
drug use and was summarily fired from the series by producer David E. Kelley.
This led to a year in a drug treatment facility and three years probation.
Downey, Jr. made a brief and uncredited cameo in the fifth and final season of
the series the following year.
The book Conversations With Woody Allen reports that director Woody Allen wanted
to cast Downey, Jr. and Winona Ryder in his film Melinda and Melinda in 2000,
but was unable to do so because he could not get insurance on them, stating "We
couldn't get bonded. The completion bonding companies would not bond the picture
unless we could insure them. We were heartbroken because I had worked with
Winona before [on "Celebrity"] and thought she was perfect for this and wanted
to work with her again. And I had always wanted to work with Bob Downey and
always thought he was a huge talent".
Downey, Jr. appeared in Elton John's video for the single "I Want Love" in 2001.
On November 23, 2004, he released his debut musical album, The Futurist, on Sony
Classical, for which he designed the cover art. He was invited to open for
Duran Duran in 2005, but declined due to film commitments. He returned to
mainstream films in the mid 2000s, with Gothika, for which Joel Silver withheld
40 percent of his salary until after production wrapped, as insurance against
his addictive behavior; similar insurance has become standard in his contracts
since then. He had three roles in 2005 and seven roles in 2006. Among them
were Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Good Night, and Good Luck., The Shaggy Dog, A Scanner
Darkly, Zodiac, and Fur. One of his most recent starring roles is as Principal
Gardner in the teen comedy Charlie Bartlett, released in February 2008. He will
next star in the film Iron Man as the title character, scheduled for release
on May 2, 2008.
Name: Robert Downey Jr.
Born: 4 April 1965 New York City, New York, United States
Robert John Downey, Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an Academy Award-nominated and
Golden Globe-winning American actor and musician. He became known during the
late 1980s and early 1990s after a series of well-reviewed performances in
Hollywood films. During a period of drug addiction in the late 1990s, Downey, Jr.
continued his acting career, appearing on the television series Ally McBeal.
More recent films include a number of supporting and lead film roles, in Good
Night and Good Luck, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Zodiac, and Iron Man.
Downey, Jr. was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elsie (nee Ford), a
dancer and singer, and Robert Downey Sr. (nee Elias), an actor, writer, producer,
cinematographer, and director of underground films. He has a sister,
Alison. Downey, Jr.'s mother was of German and Scottish descent, and his father
was of Irish and Jewish ancestry; Downey, Jr. has described his beliefs as "Jewish-Buddhist."
During his childhood, Downey, Jr. had a minor role as a puppy in his father's
film Pound (1970). As a teen, he attended Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts
Training Center in upstate New York. Downey, Jr. subsequently grew up in
California with his father. At the age of twenty, he joined the cast of
Saturday Night Live, but was a cast member for only one season. His SNL
recurring characters included Jimmy Chance, a hipster movie critic (paired with
Nora Dunn's Ashley Ashley) and Rudy Randolph III: Son of Randy Quaid's Rudy
Randolph Jr. He did a number of celebrity impersonations, including Elvis
Presley, George Michael, John Cougar Mellencamp, Sean Penn, Paul Simon, and John
Oates from Hall and Oates (Darryl Hall was played by Anthony Michael Hall).
He went on to star in The Pick-up Artist in 1987. The same year, he portrayed a
drug-addicted rich boy in Less Than Zero. In 1992, he starred as Charlie
Chaplin in Chaplin, a role which garnered him an Academy Award nomination for
Best Actor. His other films in the 1990s included Heart and Souls, Only You,
Natural Born Killers, and Restoration.
Many consider Downey jr. to be a member of the Brat Pack. Although he's not
recognized as an official member, Downey starred with Molly Ringwald, Anthony
Michael Hall, James Spader and Andrew McCarthy in several Brat Pack films.
In 1997, Downey. Jr. was arrested and jailed for missing mandatory court-imposed
drug tests. He was imprisoned at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility
and State Prison, Corcoran, between August 1999 and August 2000 for similar
offenses.
Following his release in 2000, Downey, Jr. joined the cast of the hit television
series Ally McBeal, playing Larry Paul, the new love interest of Calista
Flockhart's title character. He won a Golden Globe award and was nominated for
an Emmy Award. He also appeared as a writer and singer on Vonda Shephard's
Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life album and sang in a duet with Sting in an
episode of the series (a version of The Police's 1983 hit "Every Breath You Take").
Before the end of his first season on Ally McBeal, Downey, Jr. had relapsed into
drug use and was summarily fired from the series by producer David E. Kelley.
This led to a year in a drug treatment facility and three years probation.
Downey, Jr. made a brief and uncredited cameo in the fifth and final season of
the series the following year.
The book Conversations With Woody Allen reports that director Woody Allen wanted
to cast Downey, Jr. and Winona Ryder in his film Melinda and Melinda in 2000,
but was unable to do so because he could not get insurance on them, stating "We
couldn't get bonded. The completion bonding companies would not bond the picture
unless we could insure them. We were heartbroken because I had worked with
Winona before [on "Celebrity"] and thought she was perfect for this and wanted
to work with her again. And I had always wanted to work with Bob Downey and
always thought he was a huge talent".
Downey, Jr. appeared in Elton John's video for the single "I Want Love" in 2001.
On November 23, 2004, he released his debut musical album, The Futurist, on Sony
Classical, for which he designed the cover art. He was invited to open for
Duran Duran in 2005, but declined due to film commitments. He returned to
mainstream films in the mid 2000s, with Gothika, for which Joel Silver withheld
40 percent of his salary until after production wrapped, as insurance against
his addictive behavior; similar insurance has become standard in his contracts
since then. He had three roles in 2005 and seven roles in 2006. Among them
were Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Good Night, and Good Luck., The Shaggy Dog, A Scanner
Darkly, Zodiac, and Fur. One of his most recent starring roles is as Principal
Gardner in the teen comedy Charlie Bartlett, released in February 2008. He will
next star in the film Iron Man as the title character, scheduled for release
on May 2, 2008.