Robert Downey Jr. aka Iron man from the Marvel Cinematic Universe is loved by almost every marvel fan regardless of their age. Robert Downey Jr. made his debut as Iron man in 2008 with the movie Iron man. Now the above lines are known to a lot of people but his past is a bit dark and not known to many. Let us learn how Robert Downey Jr. went from a drug addict to one of the most popular superhero actors.
Childhood & Start of his acting career
Robert Downey Jr. was born in New York City. At the age of eight, he was introduced to drugs by his father Robert John Downey, allowing him to use marijuana at a party. Robert started acting at the age of 5, he would play small roles in his father’s movies. In 1987 he had the role that made him popular or we could say the role that started his career, the interesting thing was he was playing the role of a drug addict in the film Less Than Zero. His extraordinary skill to act realistically made him noticeable to the directors’ eyes.
The Ups and Downs in his career
Downey was arrested multiple times from 1996 through 2001 due to drug-related charges. Robert Decided to attend rehab as his addiction was causing major damage to his acting career but unfortunately he failed multiple times. In 1996 he got arrested for the possession of a gun and drugs. He once in an interview said that getting rid of a bad habit is easy but making up the mind to get rid of the habit is hard. He had been sentenced to 6 months in prison for not attending his drug tests in 1997, this time however things had gotten worse because during this time period he was attacked by his inmates and found himself covered in blood but this was not the end of it since he had been arrested again for the same reason in 1999. After he was released it seemed that he had left the drugs behind and started a new page in his life.
The new page
Robert now was a part of the hit series called Ally Mcbeal in which he gave an outstanding performance. Everyone was noticing that his life was changing completely but in reality, would make u question it. This new page of his life was unfortunately all a lie. He was still doing drugs, and it was bound for everybody to find out, one day the truth fell apart and he was kicked from the series as well. But as we all know him today as a very successful person which would make us question, ‘ How?’.
How his life became a rollercoaster that only went up
In 2003, Robert met his current wife Susan Downey, Susan insisted that she would only marry him if he gave up drugs and so he threw all his current stock in the pacific ocean and started the real new chapter of his life. He gave up drugs for good and his life was about to become an emotional rollercoaster that only went upwards. He started acting as Iron man in 2008 which is the start of his marvel journey and how we know him today.
Conclusion
A person can always change and discover his potential even if he is on the darkest path no matter if it’s Robert Downey Jr. or any other person. Every man can change.
By Shivamjyoti Das
Write and Win: Participate in Creative writing Contest & International Essay Contest and win fabulous prizes.
