And RDJ knows a little something about being a big deal. The famed Brat Pack member has overcome decades of personal struggles with substance abuse and criminal activity to become one of Hollywood’s highest paid, and much adored, actors. In the frame of his four-decade career, the New York native has played a close-to-home, out-of-control rich kid in Less Than Zero, silent film star Charlie Chaplin, Michael Douglas’s assistant in Wonder Boys, a lawyer on Ally McBeal, Sherlock Holmes and one of Marvel’s most popular superheroes, Iron Man.
In celebration of Robert’s birthday, Hello! reveals 50 fun facts about the charismatic actor, loving husband and devoted father of two.
25 FACTS ABOUT ROBERT DOWNEY JR:
1. Acting is in his blood. He’s the son of director Robert Downey Sr. and actress Elsie Downey and made his debut in his father’s film, Pound (1990). Robert played a puppy.
2. Robert Elias Jr.? His family name was Elias until his father changed it to Downey in the 1950s.
3. The future action star studied ballet at the age of 10.
4. Bright lights, big city! When Robert was 16, he quit school and moved back to New York to start his acting career. His first gigs were in off-Broadway plays.
5..In the early days of his career, the struggling actor bussed tables at a SoHo restaurant.
6..He became one of the members of the infamous ‘80s Brat Pack. Fellow Brat Packer Anthony Michael Hall is his eldest son Indio’s godfather.
Pretty in Pink’s Molly Ringwald has 7..revealed that she pushed for Robert to get the part of Duckie in the hit 80s flick, but producers decided to give the role to Jon Cryer instead.
8..He has a younger sister named Allyson, who spent some time as an actress before turning her attention to writing.
9..One of his first loves was Sarah Jessica Parker, who he met while being an extra on the set of Girls Just Want to Have Fun . The lovebirds were together for seven years beginning in 1984 before they split over his alcohol and drug use. "She tried to help me," he has said. "She was so miffed when I didn't get my act together."
10. Live from New York, it’s Robert Downey Jr.! The actor was a cast member on the 1985 season of Saturday Night Live.
The actor wrote and starred in his first documentary The Last Party in 1993.
12..Robert did drugs the first time with his father when he was a child and fell into a cycle of addiction. He spent four months in jail in 1997 and another year in 1999 for drug possession.
13..We swooned for him as Calista Flockhart’s love interest Larry Paul on Ally McBeal. Robert won a Golden Globe for the role but was written off the show in 2001 because of his personal issues.
14..It isn’t easy becoming a member of Hollywood’s 20 Million Club (stars who earn more than $20 million per film), but Robert did just thanks to the success of the Iron Man franchise.
15..Tinseltown loves a comeback story and Robert has thanked Mel Gibson for reviving his career. Mel cast Robert in a small role in 2003’s The Singing Detective.
16 .Vive l’amour. Robert met his now-wife Susan in 2003 on the Montreal set of the movie Gothika. He credits her for helping him maintain his sobriety.
17..After a two-year engagement, Susan and Robert married in the Hamptons (a favourite vacation spot of Robert's) in August 2005. They have two children – a son Exton, 3, and a daughter, Avri, who was born in November 2014.
18. .Gothika producer Joel Silver gave the toast at their wedding. The two would go on to collaborate on the Sherlock Holmes franchise.
In interviews, he refers to Susan as "the Mrs." and has her named tattooed on his arm.
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