Chaplin

Background:

“(Hollywood) is not like that anymore. It’s a lot more strait-laced and they’re not interested in people who are not going to show up and be healthy.” Robert Downey Jr.

An American versatile and scornful actor, Robert Downey Jr. has evolved into one of the most respected actors in Hollywood with his amazingly performances he has managed to stay new and fresh even after three decades in the industry. Hailed by many critics as one of the most talented actor of his generation, Downey Jr. received acclaimed and became famous after portraying the title role in Richard Attenborough’s Chaplin (1992), where he was awarded a London Critics Circle Film Award and a British Academy Award, as well as earned an Oscar nomination. The recipient of the 2004 Hasty Pudding Man of the Year Award and the 2003 Chicago International Film Festival Career Achievement Award, Downey Jr. picked up a Golden Globe Award and a Venice Film Festival Award in Robert Altman’s Short Cuts (1993), won a Saturn Award in Heart and Souls (1993) and was garnered a L.A. Outfest Award in Wonder Boys (2000). Additionally, he is unforgettable fro playing roles in such films as Less Than Zero (1987), True Believer (1989), Chances Are (1989), Natural Born Killers (1994), Richard III (1995), Home for the Holidays (1995), Restoration (1995), Two Girls and a Guy (1997), The Gingerbread Man (1998), James Toback’s Black & White (1999) and The Singing Detective (2003). On the small screen, Robert Downey Jr. is most well-known for playing the love interest of Calista Flockhart’s titular role in series “Ally McBeal” (2000-2001). His spectacular supporting turn won the actor two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy nod.

“It’s like I have a loaded gun in my mouth, and I like the taste of metal.” Robert Downey Jr. on his addiction to drugs

In addition to his career impressive achievements, Downey Jr. has also become famous for his struggle with drugs and troubles with laws. In 1996, he was arrested for the first of many times for his drug use, and three years later, his problems culminated with three years jail sentence for repeated parole violations. The actor went in and out of rehab as a part of his probation. In 2000, he was once again arrested in a California hotel for cocaine and Valium possession and being under the influence of a controlled substance. He has since allegedly remained clean and sober.

As for his love life, Downey Jr. has been married twice. He was married to first wife Deborah Falconer from 1992 and had lived separately four years later. The marriage finally came to an end when his wife for divorce in 2004. He is now the husband of producer Susan Levin, whom he wed in 2005. Downey Jr. has also been romantically involved with Sarah Jessica Parker (together from 1984-1991) and Kristy Bauer-Jordan (dated in late 2001, no longer together).


Bob

Childhood and Family:

Son to director-actor Robert Downey Sr. (born in 1937) and actress-singer Elsie Downey, Robert John Downey Jr. was born on April 4, 1965, in New York, New York. Along with his older sister, Alison, Robert was raised in Greenwich Village until his parents’ marriage came to an end in 1978. He then relocated to Los Angeles to live with his father, but three years later moving back to New York to join his mother. Robert dropped out of Santa Monica High School in 1982, to pursue an acting career.
As for his private life, Robert Downey Jr., whose nickname is Bob, married actress Deborah Falconer (born in 1965) on May 29, 1992, and their only son, Indio, was born in September 1993. The marriage, however, ended in divorce on April 27, 2004. In August 27, 2005, he was married to his two years fiancé, movie producer Susan Levin, whom he met while filming Gothika in 2002. Robert, who refers himself as “half-Jewish,” held the marriage in a Jewish ceremony at Amagansett, New York. The 5’ 9” actor practices Wing Chun Kung Fu.


Ally McBeal

Career:

Born to an entrainment family, Robert Downey, Jr. was encouraged to perform at a very young age. When he was five, the son of an avant-garde filmmaker made his first movie appearance as a puppy in the fantasy Pound, written and directed by his father, and went on to have uncredited parts in his father’s films Greaser’s Palace (1972), Moment to Moment (1975) and Up the Academy (1980). After leaving high school, he began taking various jobs like as a piece of living art in a SoHo club in NYC. His initial break arrived when his father cast Downey, Jr. in the small role of Paulie Hackley in comedy film America (1982), released theatrically in 1986. In between, he appeared in John Sayles’ Baby, It’s You (1983), Firstborn (1984), Tuff Turf (1985), Weird Science (1985) and Back to School (1986). In the meantime, he also made his miniseries debut with the NBC “Mussolini: The Untold Story” (1985), as well as joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in the regular role for a single season from 1985-86.
Downey, Jr. landed his first starring role in a comedy-romance by James Toback, The Pick-Up Artist (1987), opposite Molly Ringwald. The same year, he delivered a breakthrough role as drug-addicted wealthy boy Julian Wells in Less Than Zero (1987).
The drama film starred Andrew McCarthy and Jami Gertz. The strong portrayal was followed by other mature performances like in True Believer (1989) opposite James Woods as naïve attorney Roger Baron and Chances Are (1989), where he was cast as the film’s bewildered romantic hero Alex Finch.

After working with Mel Gibson in Air America (1990) and offering witty turn as a juvenile TV producer in the satirical Soapdish (1991), Downey, Jr. scored critical success with his tour-de-force role, as the title character in the box-office failure Chaplin (1992), a biopic directed by Richard Attenborough. Perfectly capturing the essence of the world’s darling little tramp, the leading player received wide recognitions and eventually took home a merited Best Actor Academy Award nomination. Additionally, he won a London Critics Circle Film for Actor of the Year and a British Academy for Best Actor Leading. He combined the victory with others in the next year by netting a Venice Film Festival and a Golden Globe for Best Ensemble Cast in Robert Altman’s Short Cuts, in which he was briefly cast as an eccentric make-up artist, and picking up the Best Actor Saturn Award for his brilliant starring turn as Thomas Reilly in light comedy Heart and Souls, along side Charles Grodin and Kyra Sedgwick.

Next up for the talented performer, he was positively responded by critics as Aussie TV tabloid correspondent Wayne Gale in Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers (1994) and turned in a fine romantic lead opposite Marisa Tomei in Only You, that same year. The following year, he gave attractive performances in three films: Richard Loncraine’s Richard III (1995, as the brother of Annette Bening), the Jodie Foster-directed Home for the Holidays (1995, played Holly Hunter’s hyper gay brother) and the prolific Restoration (1995, starred as the court physician to King Charles II). Disappearing from the big screen films for a short time, Downey, Jr. returned with the attention-earning portrayal of a womanizer tackled by a pair of his girlfriends in James Toback’s Two Girls and a Guy (1997), opposite Heather Graham and Natasha Gregson Wagner. Also in 1997, he had a touching performance as an AIDS-stricken gay man in Mike Figgis’ One Night Stand and played Franz Mazur in Hugo Pool. Despite the fruitful career, the actor was involved in legal troubles and struggled with his addictions.

The actor continued to give a string of superb performances like in Robert Altman’s The Gingerbread Man (1998), James Toback’s Black & White (1999, as the gay husband of a documentary filmmaker) and Wonder Boys (2000), supporting Michael Douglas as his homosexual editor. For his efforts in the latter, he was handed a L.A. Outfest for Screen Idol. He also played a serial killer terrorizing Annette Bening in In Dreams (1999) and made a cameo turn as Jerry Renfro in Bowfinger (1999).

While enduring to fight with his addictions, Downey, Jr. delivered one of his best performances as a boyfriend to Calista Flockhart’s titular “Ally McBeal” (2000-2001). As Larry Paul, he quickly won both the heart of critics and audience alike. As a result, he nabbed two Golden Globes for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Television Series in 2000 and 2001, a 2001 Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series, as well as an Emmy nomination. Unfortunately, the high-profile turn was cut short due to his bothered life. In 2001, the series’ producer David E. Kelley abruptly fired him following a 2000 arrest on weapons and drug possession charge and a 2001 capture for being under the influence of a controlled substance.

In 2003, Downey, Jr. tried to re-establish his career by joining long-time friend and collaborator Mel Gibson for Keith Gordon’s comedy The Singing Detective, a remake adapted from the acclaimed Dennis Potter-scripted British miniseries of the same name. The film was perfectly cast Downey, Jr. as the titular hero Dan Dark. He then costarred with Halle Berry and Penélope Cruz in the supernatural thriller Gothika (2003), appeared in director Steven Soderbergh’s segment of the anthology film Eros (2004), had supporting role in Michael Keaton’s vehicle Game 6 (2005) and returned to a starring turn as a less-than-bright paltry thief in the murder mystery Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang (2005, with Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan). Still in 2005, he was additionally featured in George Clooney’s sophomore directorial effort, Good Night, and Good Luck.

Recently, Downey, Jr. had roles in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006), Disney’s remake of The Shaggy Dog (2006) and A Scanner Darkly (2006). He has lately completed two films: the Curtis Hanson-directed Lucky You (2006), starring Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore, and Steven Shainberg’s biopic Fur (2006), opposite Nicole Kidman. In 2007, Downey, Jr. is scheduled to star with Jake Gyllenhaal in David Fincher’s thriller Chronicles, work with ‘Austin Powers filmmaker John Poll and writer Gustin Nash for Charlie Bartlett and play Edgar Allan Poe in Sylvester Stallone’s Poe.


Awards:

• Hasty Pudding: Man of the Year, 2004
• Chicago International Film Festival: Career Achievement Award, 2003
• L.A. Outfest: Screen Idol Award - Male, Wonder Boys, 2001
• Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series, Ally Mc Beal, 2001
• Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made, TV, Ally McBeal, 2001
• Golden Globe: Best Actor in a Supporting Role Television Series, Ally McBeal, 2000
• Saturn: Best Actor, Heart and Souls, 1994
• Golden Globe: Special Award - Best Ensemble Cast, Short Cuts, 1994
• Venice Film Festival: Best Ensemble Cast, Short Cuts, 1993
• British Academy: Best Actor Leading, Chaplin, 1993
• London Critics Circle Film: Actor of the Year, Chaplin, 1993