Robert Downey Jr.
Acting
- Born:
- 1965-04-04
- Place of birth:
- New York City, New York, USA
Biography
Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14.3 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. Downey was the highest-paid actor in the world annually from 2013 to 2015. Known for his versatility across roles, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Daytime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two British Academy Film Awards. At the age of five, Downey made his acting debut in his father, Robert Downey Sr.'s, film Pound (1970). He rose to prominence by working with the Brat Pack for the teen films Weird Science (1985) and Less than Zero (1987). His portrayal of Charlie Chaplin in the biopic Chaplin (1992) earned him the BAFTA Award for Best Actor and an Academy Award nomination. After spending less than a year at a treatment facility on drug charges, Downey joined the television series Ally McBeal in 2000, earning a Golden Globe for his performance. Dismissed from the show in 2001 following further drug-related arrests, he entered a court-ordered rehabilitation program and has remained sober since 2003. After Mel Gibson paid his insurance bond, Downey made his film comeback with The Singing Detective (2003). He gained global recognition for starring as Iron Man in ten Marvel Cinematic Universe films, from Iron Man (2008) to Avengers: Endgame (2019). Downey starred as the titular detective in Sherlock Holmes (2009), which earned him a Golden Globe. His portrayal of bureaucrat Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer (2023) won him the Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2024, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for the miniseries The Sympathizer. He made his Broadway debut in the title role of Ayad Akhtar's McNeal. Time named Downey one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008, and Forbes featured him on the Celebrity 100 in 2013 and 2014. He has pursued music, releasing the jazz-pop album The Futurist (2004), which charted on the US Billboard 200. Divorced from singer Deborah Falconer, Downey has been married to film producer Susan Levin since 2005; they co-founded the production company Team Downey. Downey has three children: one with Falconer and two with Levin. In 2025, he was named one of the greatest film actors of the 21st century by The Independent. Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Downey Jr., licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
Avengers: Secret Wars
Avengers: Doomsday
Robert Richardson: The White Devil
The Fantastic 4: First Steps
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night
The Honey Trap: A True Story of Love, Lies and the FBI
Disney Legends Award Ceremony
The Sympathizer
Robert Downey Jr.: High Altitude
Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter
Oppenheimer
Inside Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer
Downey's Dream Cars
2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
"Sr."
Val
Marvel Studios Assembled
Marvel Studios Legends
MoPOP Founders Award 2020 Honoring Alice in Chains
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Dolittle
The Age of A.I.
Ellen's Greatest Night of Giveaways
The Chef Show
Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Infinity War
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman
Spider-Man: Homecoming
A Fan's Guide to Spider-Man Homecoming
The True Story of...
The Nice Guys
Captain America: Civil War
Phase 2 Tag Scenes: A Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Two
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Marvel: 75 Years, from Pulp to Pop!
The Judge
I Am Steve McQueen
Sock or Hat?
Chef
Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Off Camera with Sam Jones
Iron Man 3 Unmasked
Iron Man 3
The Frame
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: A Perfect Chemistry
The Avengers
Finding Your Roots
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant
Due Date
Ultimate Iron Man: The Making of 'Iron Man 2'
Love and Distrust
Mad Mel: The Rise and Fall of a Hollywood Icon
Iron Man 2
Sherlock Holmes: Reinvented
Sherlock Holmes
Live from Studio Five
The Soloist
Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness
Animal House: The Inside Story
Tropic Thunder
The Incredible Hulk
Starz Inside: Comic Books Unbound
Iron Man
Charlie Bartlett
Voom Portraits
Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens
Lucky You
Zodiac
The Graham Norton Show
One Summer in Austin: The Story of Filming 'A Scanner Darkly'
The Weight of the Line: Animation Tales
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
A Scanner Darkly
Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow
Game 6
The Shaggy Dog
The Outsider
The Reichen Show
The Showbiz Show with David Spade
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Saturday Night Live in the '80s: Lost and Found
Linklater: St. Richard of Austin
Eros
On the Set of 'Gothika'
Painting with Fire
The Route V50
Gothika
The Singing Detective
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin
Punk'd
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Whatever We Do
Lethargy
Pieta
Last Party 2000
Auto Motives
Wonder Boys
The Early Show
Black and White
Bowfinger
Friends & Lovers
Family Guy
In Dreams
Two Girls and a Guy
U.S. Marshals
The Gingerbread Man
Hugo Pool
One Night Stand
Ally McBeal
The View
Danger Zone
The Daily Show
Richard III
Restoration
Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree
Home for the Holidays
The Frank Skinner Show
Natural Born Killers
Hail Caesar
Only You
Fertile La Toyah Video Magazine #2: The Kinky Issue!
A Century of Cinema
Short Cuts
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Show with David Letterman
The Last Party
Heart and Souls
Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country
Raw
GMTV
Chaplin
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Soapdish
Too Much Sun
Air America
Chances Are
True Believer
That's Adequate
This Morning
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1969
Rented Lips
Johnny Be Good
Less Than Zero
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
The Pick-up Artist
Kids' Choice Awards
America
American Masters
Back to School
Arrival
Mussolini: The Untold Story
Weird Science
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Tuff Turf
Firstborn
Baby It's You
Late Night with David Letterman
Entertainment Tonight
Up the Academy
Saturday Night Live
People's Choice Awards
Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight
Greaser's Palace
Pound
The Oscars
All-Star Weekend
The Hider
Monty and the Movies
The Raccoon Killer