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Robert Downey Jr. Biography |
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Robert John Downey Jr. was born in Greenwich Village, New York City at 1.10 pm. He`s the son of underground filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.. His first part in a movie was in his father`s Pound (1970), where 5-year-old Downey played a puppy. When he was 20 years old, he joined "Saturday Night Live" (1975) for one season. After that, he went to Hollywood. In 1987, he got the leading role in director James Toback`s film The Pick-up Artist (1987), where he was up against Molly Ringwald. The same year, he played drug addict Julian Wells in the movie Less Than Zero (1987). In 1992, he played Charles Chaplin in Sir Richard Attenborough`s film Chaplin (1992). For his astonishing performance, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In the year 2000, guest starred in the comedy series "Ally McBeal" (1997), where he portrayed the attorney Larry Paul, who became Ally`s love interest. For that performance, he won the Golden Globe for "best supporting actor in a comedy series". On "Ally McBeal" (1997), Downey got to show he can sing as well as act when he sang Joni Mitchell`s "River", "Chances Are" as a duet with Vonda Shepard, and also "Every Breath You Take" together with Sting. He released one song of his own, "Snakes", on the "Ally McBeal" (1997) album "For Once In My Life", and a full album of his work titled "The Futurist" in 2
Biography Credit: www.imdb.com/name/nm0000375/bio |
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BiographyFriends and FamilyAllyson Downey [Sister] :: Moby [Friend] :: Elsie Downey [Mother] :: Robert Downey Sr. [Father]Trivia and QuotesQuotes I`ve always felt like such an outsider in this industry. Because I`m so insane, I guess. A lot of my peer group think I`m an eccentric bisexual, like I may even have an ammonia-filled tentacle or something somewhere on my body. That`s okay. It`s a blanket statement to say, "That guy`s really sharp and amicable and nice," because there`s a little bit of a--hole in every nice guy, and there`s a little bit of genius in every moron. I`m not used to feeling like I belong where I am. I`ve become a picky little bitch. I`ve never bothered to plan projects before. I just used to throw the script across the room and say, "Why do they keep sending me this horseshit?" And then I`d start rehearsals two weeks later. The higher the stakes, the happier I am, the better I will be. [on his addiction to drugs]: It`s like I have a loaded gun in my mouth, and I like the taste of metal.
am putting together some ideas for two or three more things I want to do. Maybe a CD of just my kind of standards, which would be Supertramp and Steely Dan covers with an orchestra. I`m deep into old Genesis. I`m sorry, but these are songs that mean something to me. "Follow You Follow Me" is a song that`s about something to me. I know very little about acting. I`m just an incredibly gifted faker. It was so nice to go into this fake courtroom [on "Ally McBeal" (1997)]. I immediately went up into the judge`s chair. Nice view. A preferable perspective. What I usually hate about these movies when suddenly the guy that you were digging turns into Dudley Do-Right, and then you`re supposed to buy into all his "Let`s go do some good!" That Eliot Ness-in-a-cape-type thing. What was really important to me was to not have him change so much that he`s unrecognizable. When someone used to be a schmuck and they`re not anymore, hopefully they still have a sense of humor.Trivia He got into fight with another inmate at the Los Angeles County Jail, where he was serving time for a probation violation, and was treated for a cut over his nose. [13 February 1998] Names Peter O`Toole as his favorite actor. Arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance in Los Angeles after he was found wandering in an alley. He was fired from the TV series "Ally McBeal" (1997) by producer David E. Kelley after the arrest. [24 April 2001] As a result of his father`s work (Robert Downey Sr. was (and is) an independent filmmaker), Downey the younger spent a great deal of his childhood on the move. He lived at various points in Connecticut, New York, California, London, Paris, and Woodstock. Downey pleaded no contest to drug charges. The judge sentenced him to remain in rehabilitation for one year and to three years` probation. [16 July 2001] Downey pleaded not guilty to the November 2000 drug charges. Next hearing will be on July 16. He is being held in a drug rehab center until his case is decided. [24 May 2001] Downey re-arrested on drugs and weapons charges in Palm Springs, California, at the luxurious Merv Griffin resort, after an anonymous tip to police. Downey was found alone, with cocaine and methamphetamines. He cooperated with police, spent the night in jail, and was released the next morning on $15,000.00 bail. Downey had been on a career upswing with his successful stint on "Ally McBeal" (1997), and his upcoming stage performance as Hamlet, set for January, 2001 in Los Angeles, to be directed by his friend Mel Gibson. [25 November 2000] Downey`s attorneys advised the judge that they could not reach a plea bargain in his November 2000 drug arrest. [15 March 2001] During his days of drug addiction, Robert once wandered into a stranger`s house and passed out on a child`s bed. In a symbolic attempt to bury his decadent 1980s Brat Pack image and begin a new phase of his life and career after filming Chaplin (1992) in 1991, he (literally) buried the clothes that he wore in 1987`s Less Than Zero (1987) in the backyard of his house. Once worked as a piece of living art in a SoHo nightclub in New York City. Parents divorced when he was 11. At the age of 10, while living in London, Robert attended the Perry House School in Chelsea and studied classical ballet. Downey enjoyed working with the director of the Elton John music video--contemporary artist Sam Taylor Wood--so much that he suggested that they work together again on an art piece. The result was an art video called "Pietà," made in the manner of Michelangelo`s famous Pietà sculpture in Rome. It was included in Sam Taylor Wood`s exhibition "Mute" at the White Cube 2 art gallery in London, November 23 to January 12, 2002. Dropped out of Santa Monica High School at age 17 and moved to New York to become an actor. First jobs in the city included bussing tables at Central Falls restaurant, working in a shoe store, and performing as "living art" at SohHo`s notorious underground club Area. Sting ("Every Breath You Take") and Billy Idol performed at his wedding to Susan Downey. Was approached to do the part as Zaphod Beeblebrox in The Hitchhiker`s Guide to the Galaxy (2005). He`s the first regular cast member of "Saturday Night Live" (1975) to be nominated for an Academy Award in the category "Best Actor in a Leading Role." Joan Cusack and Dan Aykroyd were also nominated for Academy Awards some years before Downey, but both were nominated for supporting roles. Met wife Susan Downey on the set of Gothika (2003). He proposed to her on her 30th birthday On the set of A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006) he took co-star Adam Scarimbolo under his wing. Ranked #60 in Time Magazine`s 100 Most Influential People in the world (2008). Was in attendance at Chris Penn`s funeral | ||
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