Robert Downey Jr.
His long road to Oscar triumph
Robert Downey Jr. with his Oscar for “Oppenheimer.”
© imago images/ZUMA Wire
Marvel star Robert Downey Jr. has won his first Academy Award – completing one of the biggest Hollywood comebacks of all time.
Star of the 1980s
As the son of filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. (1936-2021), Downey Jr. rose to Hollywood stardom as a young actor in the 1980s. After appearing in films such as John Hughes’ (1950-2009) “LISA – The Hell of Madness” or “Unter Null”, the adaptation of the novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis (60), he was counted as part of the so-called Brat Pack in Hollywood. This influential group of young stars included Emilio Estevez (61) and Rob Lowe (59), who, in addition to their film careers, were also known for extravagant party escapades.
With the aforementioned “Chaplin”, Downey Jr. seemed to have made the leap to more adult roles with more prestige, but came away empty-handed at the 65th Academy Awards in 1993. Just a few weeks ago he explained According to “Deadline” on US television, looking back, feeling relieved that he didn’t receive an Academy Award at the time. “I was young and crazy,” Downey Jr. said by way of explanation. If he had won, “I would have had the impression that I was on the right track.”
Increasing drug problems and time behind bars
The actor’s most difficult time began towards the end of the 1990s. For years, the Hollywood star has reported in interviews that he was surrounded by illegal drugs and their users as a child. Even with his father, Robert Downey Sr., he resorted to banned substances long before he came of age.
In 1996, Los Angeles police stopped him for speeding. The drugs heroin and cocaine as well as an unloaded pistol were found in his car. After missing a court-ordered drug test the following year, he spent four months behind bars for the first time. In 1999, Downey Jr. was sentenced to another three years in prison for similar offenses, but ultimately served only 15 months, and was caught again with cocaine and Valium shortly after his release.
His acting career suffered tremendously during this time as productions were simply no longer able to insure Downey Jr. For this reason he also joked on stage at the 96th Academy Awardsthat his lawyer, who had been working for him for 40 years, had spent half of that time “insuring me and vouching for me.”
Comeback with “Iron Man” and the beginning of the Marvel Universe
These two acts of Downey Jr.’s life and career were to be followed by an extremely successful third act, which reached its peak with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. After some notable successes such as the comedy “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” from 2005 or David Fincher’s (61) serial killer thriller “Zodiac – The Killer’s Trail”, Marvel Studios signed Downey Jr. for the superhero film “Iron Man “, which began the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008, making it the most successful film series in cinema history to date in terms of box office revenue.
Marvel fans loved his portrayal of the arrogant playboy and genius inventor Tony Stark. He appeared in nine more Marvel films in the following decade, rose to become the leader of the Avengers and mentor to Spider-Man, and finally said goodbye to the MCU with “Avengers: Endgame”, the second most successful film in cinema history to date .
Downey Jr.’s second Oscar nomination also fell during this Marvel era. In 2009, he was already nominated for “Best Supporting Actor” for his portrayal of Kirk Lazarus in the absurd comedy “Tropic Thunder”, but lost to the recently tragically deceased Joker -Actor Heath Ledger (1979-2008) from “The Dark Knight”. Despite the defeat, an Oscar nomination for a purely comedic performance is considered a great achievement, as comedies traditionally have a relatively difficult time at the Oscars.
After the forgettable film flop “The Fantastic Journey of Dr. Dolittle” from 2020, Christopher Nolan’s (53) “Oppenheimer” now represented his first major role after the end of his Marvel time – and the mime’s first purely dramatic one in many years . That’s probably why Downey Jr. said in his acceptance speech at the 96th Academy Awards: “I needed this job more than it needed me.” With his Oscar win, he has finally achieved everything in Hollywood.