When you think about Robert Downey Junior, maybe you think about his earlier flicks like Air America or Chaplain, What a great movie. But you probably think about his title role in the two thousand and eight flick Iron Man, in which he played Tony Stark, and after that all the Iron Man roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But in between those two halves of his career, he was a heroin addict who spent time in prison. I'm Patti Steele.
Robert Downey Junior remakes his life. That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back. Robert Downey Junior began life as a Hollywood insider, sort of. He was actually born in New York City on April fourth, nineteen sixty five. His dad was the avant garde filmmaker Robert Downey Senior, and his mom actress Elsie Ann Ford. His childhood was completely unconventional. He grew up on his father's film sets, where Robert Senior was immersed in the counterculture of the nineteen seventies.
They moved from New York City several places in New York City to Woodstock, New York, to Connecticut, and then to New Mexico, finally heading back to California. All before Robert was in high school. His mother was an alcoholic and his father a drug addict who wanted to include his son in everything he did. Robert Junior's first movie role at the age of five was in his dad's movie Pound, where he played a puppy about to be euthanized.
He had appearances in seven more of his father's flicks over the years, but his dad was also the ultimate party guy, and he wanted to include his son in that part of his life as well. Robert Junior told a story about how his dad frequently left him a bit of pot on the nightstand next to his bed, letting him know it was a gift because he loved him. Robert Junior was eight the first time his dad did that.
By the mid nineteen eighties, he was a member of them from his Hollywood bratpack, making movies like Weird Science, Back to School, and Less Than Zero. In nineteen eighty five, he became a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live, just for a year or so, and during all this time, as his star was rising, he became more and more of a major partier. By the nineteen nineties, he was making a ton of movies like Chaplain, but he was also going in and out of rehab and occasionally jail.
Then in June of nineteen ninety six, Robert was speeding down Sunset Boulevard in LA when cops pulled him over. They searched his car and they found heroin, cocaine, and crack, along with an unloaded three point fifty seven magnum handgun. He was hauled in charged with drug possession and DUI. He only was sentenced to probation with mandatory drug testing, but just a month after that, he pulled a really
crazy stunt. He trespassed into a neighbour's house while high and fell asleep in their child's bed, and of course the media piled on. Despite court ordered rehab, the next year, he missed a mandatory drug test and he got six months in the La County jail. Then in nineteen ninety nine, there was another missed drug test. This time he got a three year sentence at a state prison and treatment facility.
His lawyers, including attorney to the stars Robert Shapiro remember him from the oj trial, tried to get the sentence eased, but Robert was locked up. After fifteen months, he was granted early release plus parole and probation, and he launched himself back into his career. He got a role in the popular TV show Ally McBeal. He won a Golden Globe for that, but he also fell off the wagon.
In November two thousand, Robert Downey Junior was arrested for the last time in Palm Springs for possession of cocaine and valium. A few months later, he was found wandering barefoot and stoned in Culver City. That cost him his job on Ally McBeal, and he seemed headed downhill. He decided he was going to get serious about getting sober. In later interviews, he said jail was the most dehumanizing
experience of his life. He said, imagine one day you're sleeping in two thousand dollars a night hotel rooms and the next day you're locked up in a penitentiary. It changes your thinking about everything. But he said that experience was pivotal in his journey toward recovery. So how did he do it well? He says it was a multifaceted strategy, including therapy, twelve step programs, meditation, yoga and certain kinds of martial arts. He also credits his wife, Susan Levin,
who gave him an ultimatum about his sobriety. Finally, Robert began to rebuild his life and career. Being cast as Tony Stark in two thousand and eight's Iron Man solidified his comeback and signaled his resilience. After that, he became a lynchpin in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, reprising the Ironman role in ten films over the next ten years. In two thousand and eight, he was named by Time magazine as one of the one hundred most influential people in
the world. From twenty thirteen through twenty fifteen, Forbes listed him as the highest paid actor in Hollywood. He's won Golden Globes, Emmys, and BAFTA Awards, as well as an Academy Award for twenty twenty three's Oppenheimer. His journey shows us the possibility of overcoming even the most intense personal battles. He continues to share his story in the hope of inspiring other addicts find their own version of a sober lifestyle. He says, a lot of folks struggle with their identity.
I feel like they never quite find their path and that can often lead them back to the comfort of addiction. He encourages them to focus on their goals and aspirations and to be grateful for every experience and what it can teach you about yourself and your personal strength. Not everybody's a movie star, but there is a place for all of us. You just gotta find it. I hope
you like the Backstory with Patty Steele. I would love it if you would subscribe or follow for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to dm me if you have a story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser, our writer Jay Kushner. We
have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the back Story with Patty Steele. The pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.