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EspañolROBERT DOWNEY, JR.
(Redirected from Robert Downey Jr.)
'Robert John Downey, Jr.' (born April 4, 1965) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning American actor and musician. He became known during the late 1980s and early 1990s, after a series of well-reviewed performances in Hollywood films. During his period of drug addiction during the late 1990s, Downey Jr. continued his acting career, appearing on the television series ''Ally McBeal'' as well as in a number of supporting and lead film roles, including the upcoming ''Iron Man''.
Downey Jr. was born in New York City, New York to Elsie (Ford), a dancer and singer, and Robert Downey Sr., an actor, writer, producer, cinematographer, and director of underground films.[1] He has a sister, Alison. Downey, Jr. is Jewish on his father's side, the original family name being "Elias";[2][3] he also has Irish ancestry.[4]
During his childhood, he had a minor role playing a puppy in his father's film ''Pound'' (1970). Downey Jr. grew up in California with his father.
At the age of twenty, he joined the cast of ''Saturday Night Live'', but was a cast member for only one season. He went on to star in ''The Pick-up Artist'' in 1987. The same year, he portrayed the drug-addicted rich boy in ''Less Than Zero''. In 1992, he starred as Charlie Chaplin in ''Chaplin'', a role which garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. His other films in the 1990s included ''Heart and Souls'', ''Only You'', ''Natural Born Killers'', and ''Restoration''.
In 1997, Downey was arrested and jailed for missing mandatory court-imposed drug tests. Two years later in 1999 he was jailed again for similar offences. Following his release in 2000, Downey joined the cast of the hit television series ''Ally McBeal'', playing the new love interest of Calista Flockhart's title character. He won a Golden Globe award and was also nominated for an Emmy. He also appeared as a writer and singer on Vonda Shephard's "Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life" album and sang in a duet with Sting in an episode of the series (a version of The Police's 1983 hit "Every Breath You Take"). Initially, it appeared that Downey's problems were behind him, but before the end of his first season on Ally McBeal, he had already relapsed into drug use and was summarily fired from the series by producer David E. Kelley. This led to a year in a drug treatment facility and three years probation. Downey did, however, make a brief and uncredited cameo in the fifth and final season of the series the following year but it is not clear if this was a genuinely new appearance or archival footage filmed during his tenure on the show.
The new book ''Conversations With Woody Allen'' reports that Film director Woody Allen wanted to cast Robert Downey Jr. and Winona Ryder in his film ''Melinda and Melinda'' in 2000, but was unable to do so because he could not get insurance on them. "I couldn't get insurance on them . . . We couldn't get bonded. The completion bonding companies would not bond the picture unless we could insure them," said Allen. "We were heartbroken because I had worked with Winona before [on "Celebrity"] and thought she was perfect for this and wanted to work with her again. And I had always wanted to work with Bob Downey and always thought he was a huge talent," Allen added. [1]
Downey went on to appear in Elton John's video for the single "I Want Love" in 2001. On November 23, 2004, he released his debut musical album "The Futurist" on Sony Classical, for which he designed the cover art. He was invited to open for Duran Duran in 2005, but declined due to film commitments.
He returned to film in the mid 2000s, with three roles in 2005 and seven roles in 2006. Among them are the already-released ''Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang'', ''Good Night, and Good Luck.'', ''The Shaggy Dog'', ''A Scanner Darkly'', ''Zodiac'' and ''Fur''. On September 28, 2006, it was announced that Downey would star in the film ''Iron Man'' as the titular character;[5] the film is currently being filmed and is scheduled for release on May 2, 2008.
Downey Jr. dated actress Sarah Jessica Parker in the 1980s. He married actress Deborah Falconer on May 29, 1992 and had a son named Indio. They divorced on April 26, 2004. On August 27, 2005, Downey Jr. married producer Susan Levin, (whom he met on the set of ''Gothika'') in a Jewish ceremony at Amagansett, New York.
Downey practices Wing Chun Kung Fu, which he has credited with helping him beat his addiction.[6]
★ 1970: ''Pound''
★ 1972: ''Greaser's Palace''
★ 1975: ''Moment to Moment''
★ 1980: ''Up the Academy''
★ 1983: ''Baby It's You''
★ 1984: ''Firstborn''
★ 1985: ''Deadwait'' (short subject)
★ 1985: ''Tuff Turf''
★ 1985: ''Weird Science''
★ 1986: ''Back to School''
★ 1986: ''America''
★ 1987: ''The Pick-up Artist''
★ 1987: ''Less Than Zero''
★ 1988: ''Johnny Be Good''
★ 1988: ''Rented Lips''
★ 1988: ''1969''
★ 1989: ''That's Adequate''
★ 1989: ''True Believer''
★ 1989: ''Chances Are''
★ 1990: ''Air America''
★ 1991: ''Too Much Sun''
★ 1991: ''Soapdish''
★ 1992: ''Chaplin''
★ 1993: ''Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country'' (documentary)
★ 1993: ''Heart and Souls''
★ 1993: ''The Last Party'' (documentary)
★ 1993: ''Short Cuts''
★ 1994: ''Hail Caesar''
★ 1994: ''A Century of Cinema'' (documentary)
★ 1994: ''Natural Born Killers''
★ 1994: ''Only You''
★ 1995: ''Richard III''
★ 1995: ''Home for the Holidays''
★ 1995: ''Restoration''
★ 1997: ''Danger Zone''
★ 1997: ''One Night Stand''
★ 1997: ''Two Girls and a Guy''
★ 1997: ''Hugo Pool''
★ 1998: ''The Gingerbread Man''
★ 1998: ''U.S. Marshals''
★ 1999: ''In Dreams''
★ 1999: ''Friends & Lovers''
★ 1999: ''Bowfinger''
★ 1999: ''Black and White''
★ 2000: ''Wonder Boys''
★ 2000: ''Auto Motives'' (short subject)
★ 2001: ''Last Party 2000'' (documentary)
★ 2002: ''Lethargy'' (short subject)
★ 2003: ''Whatever We Do'' (short subject)
★ 2003: ''The Singing Detective''
★ 2003: ''Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin'' (documentary)
★ 2003: ''Gothika''
★ 2004: ''Eros''
★ 2005: ''Game 6''
★ 2005: ''The Outsider'' (documentary)
★ 2005: ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang''
★ 2005: ''Good Night, and Good Luck.''
★ 2005: '' (documentary)
★ 2006: ''The Shaggy Dog''
★ 2006: ''A Scanner Darkly''
★ 2006: ''A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints''
★ 2006: ''Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus''
★ 2007: ''Zodiac''
★ 2007: ''Lucky You''
★ 2007: ''Charlie Bartlett''
★ 2008: ''Iron Man''
★ 2008: ''Tropic Thunder''
★ 2008: ''The Soloist''
★ Jimmy Chance: a hipster movie critic (paired with Nora Dunn's Ashley Ashley)
★ Rudy Randolph III: Son of Randy Quaid's Rudy Randolph, Jr.
★ Elvis Presley
★ George Michael
★ Julian Lynch
★ John Cougar Mellencamp
★ John Oates from Hall and Oates (Darryl Hall was played by Anthony Michael Hall)
★ Sean Penn
★ Paul Simon
1. http://www.filmreference.com/film/76/Robert-Downey-Jr.html
2. FoxNews.com
3. Ally McBeal News Archive Part 1
4. The Irish Echo
5. Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man
6. http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1080388,00.html "More than skin deep," ''Guardian.co.uk'', November 8, 2003
★
★ Official site for "The Futurist" album
'Robert John Downey, Jr.' (born April 4, 1965) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning American actor and musician. He became known during the late 1980s and early 1990s, after a series of well-reviewed performances in Hollywood films. During his period of drug addiction during the late 1990s, Downey Jr. continued his acting career, appearing on the television series ''Ally McBeal'' as well as in a number of supporting and lead film roles, including the upcoming ''Iron Man''.
| Contents |
| Biography |
| Early life and career |
| Later career |
| Personal life |
| Filmography |
| Recurring characters on SNL |
| Celebrity impersonations on SNL |
| References |
| External links |
Biography
Early life and career
Downey Jr. was born in New York City, New York to Elsie (Ford), a dancer and singer, and Robert Downey Sr., an actor, writer, producer, cinematographer, and director of underground films.[1] He has a sister, Alison. Downey, Jr. is Jewish on his father's side, the original family name being "Elias";[2][3] he also has Irish ancestry.[4]
During his childhood, he had a minor role playing a puppy in his father's film ''Pound'' (1970). Downey Jr. grew up in California with his father.
At the age of twenty, he joined the cast of ''Saturday Night Live'', but was a cast member for only one season. He went on to star in ''The Pick-up Artist'' in 1987. The same year, he portrayed the drug-addicted rich boy in ''Less Than Zero''. In 1992, he starred as Charlie Chaplin in ''Chaplin'', a role which garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. His other films in the 1990s included ''Heart and Souls'', ''Only You'', ''Natural Born Killers'', and ''Restoration''.
Later career
In 1997, Downey was arrested and jailed for missing mandatory court-imposed drug tests. Two years later in 1999 he was jailed again for similar offences. Following his release in 2000, Downey joined the cast of the hit television series ''Ally McBeal'', playing the new love interest of Calista Flockhart's title character. He won a Golden Globe award and was also nominated for an Emmy. He also appeared as a writer and singer on Vonda Shephard's "Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life" album and sang in a duet with Sting in an episode of the series (a version of The Police's 1983 hit "Every Breath You Take"). Initially, it appeared that Downey's problems were behind him, but before the end of his first season on Ally McBeal, he had already relapsed into drug use and was summarily fired from the series by producer David E. Kelley. This led to a year in a drug treatment facility and three years probation. Downey did, however, make a brief and uncredited cameo in the fifth and final season of the series the following year but it is not clear if this was a genuinely new appearance or archival footage filmed during his tenure on the show.
''Iron Man'' (2008)
The new book ''Conversations With Woody Allen'' reports that Film director Woody Allen wanted to cast Robert Downey Jr. and Winona Ryder in his film ''Melinda and Melinda'' in 2000, but was unable to do so because he could not get insurance on them. "I couldn't get insurance on them . . . We couldn't get bonded. The completion bonding companies would not bond the picture unless we could insure them," said Allen. "We were heartbroken because I had worked with Winona before [on "Celebrity"] and thought she was perfect for this and wanted to work with her again. And I had always wanted to work with Bob Downey and always thought he was a huge talent," Allen added. [1]
Downey went on to appear in Elton John's video for the single "I Want Love" in 2001. On November 23, 2004, he released his debut musical album "The Futurist" on Sony Classical, for which he designed the cover art. He was invited to open for Duran Duran in 2005, but declined due to film commitments.
He returned to film in the mid 2000s, with three roles in 2005 and seven roles in 2006. Among them are the already-released ''Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang'', ''Good Night, and Good Luck.'', ''The Shaggy Dog'', ''A Scanner Darkly'', ''Zodiac'' and ''Fur''. On September 28, 2006, it was announced that Downey would star in the film ''Iron Man'' as the titular character;[5] the film is currently being filmed and is scheduled for release on May 2, 2008.
Personal life
Downey Jr. dated actress Sarah Jessica Parker in the 1980s. He married actress Deborah Falconer on May 29, 1992 and had a son named Indio. They divorced on April 26, 2004. On August 27, 2005, Downey Jr. married producer Susan Levin, (whom he met on the set of ''Gothika'') in a Jewish ceremony at Amagansett, New York.
Downey practices Wing Chun Kung Fu, which he has credited with helping him beat his addiction.[6]
Filmography
★ 1970: ''Pound''
★ 1972: ''Greaser's Palace''
★ 1975: ''Moment to Moment''
★ 1980: ''Up the Academy''
★ 1983: ''Baby It's You''
★ 1984: ''Firstborn''
★ 1985: ''Deadwait'' (short subject)
★ 1985: ''Tuff Turf''
★ 1985: ''Weird Science''
★ 1986: ''Back to School''
★ 1986: ''America''
★ 1987: ''The Pick-up Artist''
★ 1987: ''Less Than Zero''
★ 1988: ''Johnny Be Good''
★ 1988: ''Rented Lips''
★ 1988: ''1969''
★ 1989: ''That's Adequate''
★ 1989: ''True Believer''
★ 1989: ''Chances Are''
★ 1990: ''Air America''
★ 1991: ''Too Much Sun''
★ 1991: ''Soapdish''
★ 1992: ''Chaplin''
★ 1993: ''Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country'' (documentary)
★ 1993: ''Heart and Souls''
★ 1993: ''The Last Party'' (documentary)
★ 1993: ''Short Cuts''
★ 1994: ''Hail Caesar''
★ 1994: ''A Century of Cinema'' (documentary)
★ 1994: ''Natural Born Killers''
★ 1994: ''Only You''
★ 1995: ''Richard III''
★ 1995: ''Home for the Holidays''
★ 1995: ''Restoration''
★ 1997: ''Danger Zone''
★ 1997: ''One Night Stand''
★ 1997: ''Two Girls and a Guy''
★ 1997: ''Hugo Pool''
★ 1998: ''The Gingerbread Man''
★ 1998: ''U.S. Marshals''
★ 1999: ''In Dreams''
★ 1999: ''Friends & Lovers''
★ 1999: ''Bowfinger''
★ 1999: ''Black and White''
★ 2000: ''Wonder Boys''
★ 2000: ''Auto Motives'' (short subject)
★ 2001: ''Last Party 2000'' (documentary)
★ 2002: ''Lethargy'' (short subject)
★ 2003: ''Whatever We Do'' (short subject)
★ 2003: ''The Singing Detective''
★ 2003: ''Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin'' (documentary)
★ 2003: ''Gothika''
★ 2004: ''Eros''
★ 2005: ''Game 6''
★ 2005: ''The Outsider'' (documentary)
★ 2005: ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang''
★ 2005: ''Good Night, and Good Luck.''
★ 2005: '' (documentary)
★ 2006: ''The Shaggy Dog''
★ 2006: ''A Scanner Darkly''
★ 2006: ''A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints''
★ 2006: ''Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus''
★ 2007: ''Zodiac''
★ 2007: ''Lucky You''
★ 2007: ''Charlie Bartlett''
★ 2008: ''Iron Man''
★ 2008: ''Tropic Thunder''
★ 2008: ''The Soloist''
Recurring characters on SNL
★ Jimmy Chance: a hipster movie critic (paired with Nora Dunn's Ashley Ashley)
★ Rudy Randolph III: Son of Randy Quaid's Rudy Randolph, Jr.
Celebrity impersonations on SNL
★ Elvis Presley
★ George Michael
★ Julian Lynch
★ John Cougar Mellencamp
★ John Oates from Hall and Oates (Darryl Hall was played by Anthony Michael Hall)
★ Sean Penn
★ Paul Simon
References
1. http://www.filmreference.com/film/76/Robert-Downey-Jr.html
2. FoxNews.com
3. Ally McBeal News Archive Part 1
4. The Irish Echo
5. Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man
6. http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1080388,00.html "More than skin deep," ''Guardian.co.uk'', November 8, 2003
External links
★
★ Official site for "The Futurist" album
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psst.. try this: add to faves
