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Robert Downey Jr. biography

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Best Known For

Actor Robert Downey, Jr. is known for his roles in a wide variety of films, including Iron Man, Chaplin, Soapdish, and Wonder Boys.

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Critical Successes

A particular high point was his Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in Chaplin (1992), directed by Richard Attenborough. In the highly acclaimed film, which didn't go over nearly as well with audiences as with critics, Downey nimbly portrayed the legendary Charlie Chaplin from ages 19 to 83. The role displayed his dramatic range as well as his considerable talent for physical comedy. By this time,

the 27-year-old Downey had come to be seen as one of the most gifted actors of his generation, but he had also earned a reputation as a troubled and controversial figure in Hollywood.

In the wake of his critical success with Chaplin, Downey anchored a documentary about the 1992 presidential election, called The Last Party. He appeared in the romantic comedy Only You in 1994, and Oliver Stone's acclaimed but controversial Natural Born Killers (1994). In 1995, he starred in the period film Restoration alongside Meg Ryan and Sam Neill; an updated film version of Richard III (1995), co-starring Ian McKellen and Annette Bening; and the Jodie Foster-directed Home for the Holidays, co-starring Holly Hunter.

 

Personal Life and Challenges

Downey's personal life had expanded, too. In May 1992, he married actress Deborah Falconer. Two years later, the couple had a son, Indio, naming friend and actor, Anthony Michael Hall, as the boy's godfather.

If Downey was ever really grounded by his new status as husband and father, it was short-lived. In June 1996 the actor was stopped by police, driving naked in his Porsche on Sunset Boulevard, and found not only to be without clothes, but in possession of cocaine, heroine, and a .357 Magnum. Less than a month later, and just a few hours before he was slated to be charged, Downey ran afoul of the law again after he was found passed out in a neighbor's house.

For the next several years, Downey's life was a haze of headline-generating, dependency induced mistakes and their consequences. There was a 12-month stay in prison, and another visit to drug rehab. In November of 2000, Downey was again arrested, this time in a Palm Springs hotel room, where he was discovered with cocaine and a Wonder Woman costume. He was charged with felony drug possession.

Downey's trial, originally set for late January, was delayed for several months while his lawyers negotiated with prosecutors. In March of 2001, the two sides failed to reach a plea bargain, and the case was set for a preliminary hearing at the end of April. On April 24th, Downey was arrested for allegedly being under the influence of an undisclosed "stimulant." At home, Downey's personal life was in turmoil, too, as Falconer sued him for divorce in 2004.

These days, however, Downey seems to have a much more stable home life. He married producer Susan Levin in 2005, and the couple welcomed their first child together on February 7, 2012. They named their son Exton Elias.

Ally McBeal

Yet Downey continued working despite his personal turmoil.

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