Jiaying Zheng

Dr. Tabitha Clark

ENGW 1111

15 October 2021

Profile Final Draft

Robert Downey Jr. Profile

Figure 1: Robert Downey Jr. photographed after being sentenced to jail

Delivering a monologue and begging the Malibu Superior Court Judge Lawrence J. Mira

to spare him from jail and promising to end his drugs addiction, actor Robert Downey Jr. failed

to persuade the court and was sentenced to state prison for 3 years in 1999. Since Downey was

arrested various times previously on charges related to drugs and missed numerous times of
required drug tests, judge Mira explained that Downey’s reckless behaviors had exhausted the

court’s patience and options for drug rehabilitation, which ultimately led to the apprehending of

Downey and the final decision of 3 years in state prison for repeatedly violating the laws. As

Downey mentioned to the judge “It’s like I have a shotgun in my mouth, and I’ve got my finger

on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gun metal,” Downey enjoyed the joy that drugs can give

him while knowing it is hurtful and slowly killing him both physically and mentally. In addition,

the phenomenon of him being heavily addicted to drugs usage and struggling to stay clean was

caused by the fact that his father – also a drug addict – had been providing Downey with drugs at

the early age of 8. It is hard to believe that this is the past story of one of the most earning and

famous actors in the entire world – Robert Downey Jr.

Seeing Robert Downey Jr. on the theaters’ screens and hearing news about how much he

is making per movies, many audiences would assume that Downey just simply got lucky with

audition for a role in Iron Man, which ultimately led to Downey’s today’s success. Although

Downey may be one of the most influential and inspiring figures, his life has been a roller

coaster with ups and downs - with heavy drugs abuse and legal troubles. But somehow, Downey

went from a forgotten movie star to a prison inmate, then finally to arguably the most popular

Avenger in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – one of the most successful franchises of all time.

Downey claimed that he was first introduced and became addicted to drugs at an early age of

eight by his father, who was a relatively famous movie director, and mentioned how he was

constantly surrounded by marijuana and cocaine. At the time, Downey considered taking drugs

with his father was their special way of bonding together and building their relationship, and he

stated that he was so drawn to it even to the point that he believed it was his father’s method of

expressing love. Not only would Downey sit at home and take any drugs that were available to
him, but he would also drink alcohol heavily and even find himself making non-stop phones calls

in the night in order to attempt to procure more drugs. Nevertheless, it did not stop Downey from

beginning his acting career and becoming a well-known rising star. After appearing in numerous

relatively successful movies, he eventually went on studying acting as a teenager, and he even

dropped out of high school and moved to New York to do so after his parent’s divorce.

Everything started out relatively well fro him with appearances in movies such as Weird Science,

which assisted him earning an audition and a valuable spot on the Saturday Night Live.

Unfortunately, things did not go smoothly for Downey this time, and he joined the show at a

particularly bad time, which was the 1985 season - was regarded as one of the worst seasons in

the show’s history. With the help from Downey’s date Sarah Jessica Parker in order to keep his

wild side restrained, Downey succeeded, and the late 80s were a huge highlight of his acting

career with praised performances from the audiences. However, everyone around Downey knew

that his drug addiction was a ticking bomb, and he was struggling to stay clean. In fact,

Downey’s manager Lorry Rod forced him into rehab once, and as a result, she was immediately

fired by Downey afterward, and his addiction had only gotten worse and worse. Later in the 90s,

Downey was sent to drug rehab program by court again various times, when then he escaped but

was capture shortly after and sent back to jail again, repeating this cycle. Throughout the 90s,

Downey’s routine was basically being released from facilities, making movies, and then being

arrested again for drugs abuse or other minor crimes.

People often find it extremely difficult relating Robert Downey Jr. to a drug addict or a

criminal, however, the shift between the two was a marathon instead of happening overnight, as

Downey said during an interview with Oprah “No, what’s hard is to decide” (Oprah, 4:00). In
 Figure 2: Robert Downey Jr. in Zodiac; Figure 3: Robert Downey Jr. with Susan Downey

fact, Downey often stayed clean during a film production in order to get the best performance

that was usually later praised by audience, which indicated the fact that Downey possessed the

talent and enthusiasm in the acting field, and he only needed the strength to make the decision to

fight his addicts. After being sentenced to state prison for three years due to drug possession and

hitting the rock bottom of his life, Downey made the final decision to change and started

focusing on his acting career. In 2002 when Downey was officially released, he immediately

jumped back into his acting career and earned himself roles in several relatively famous movies,

such as Zodiac. In addition, he fully committed to his recovery when he began dating Susan

Levin - a film producer - while performing in the film Gothika, and they are still happily married

till today and raising two children together. Not only Downey’s commitment of recovering from

drug addiction and dedication to his acting career ultimately led him to his greatest success yet:

starring as Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but also his unique past, which
strongly relate to the persona of Tony Stark – an arrogant and bold “playboy” while still being

dedicated to his own work.

Robert Downey Jr. kept his promises and has been staying clean until today, which

proved to the world that he is a man of his words. Although Downey’s acting contract with

Marvel Studio has come to an end, Downey is still going strong and performing in several

movies like Sherlock Homles 3 and etcetera. Downey’s action has influenced a vast amount of

people and proved the fact that anyone has the ability to change their life as long as they have the

dedication and prepared to fully commit to it.

 Citation

Morin, M. (1999, August 6). Robert Downey Jr. gets 3 years in prison. Los Angeles Times.

Retrieved October 19, 2021, from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-06-

me-63303-story.html. 

The Off Camera Show. (2016, June 17). Robert Downey Jr's upbringing explains a lot - youtube.

Retrieved October 19, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4dz5m1ED8k. 

Shetakaey. (2019, August 12). Robert Downey Jr. talks prison and addiction on Oprah.

YouTube. Retrieved October 24, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=mExG2cAnFmY. 

mulliganbrother. (2020, January 19). Robert Downey, jr. - don't Chase that thing | a speech all of

us should hear once!YouTube. Retrieved October 24, 2021, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNLrf8Ao48s. 

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Robert Downey, Jr. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved

October 24, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Downey-Jr.