Robert Downey Jr. His character was terminated when Downey was fired after two drug arrests in late 2000 and early 2001. After his last stay in a court-ordered drug treatment program, Downey achieved sobriety. Downey's career prospects improved when he featured in the black comedy crime "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (2005), the mystery thriller "Zodiac" (2007), and the satirical action comedy "Tropic Thunder" (2008); for the latter he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Beginning in 2008, Downey began portraying the role of Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in several films as either
Robert Downey Jr. reference to Gibson's DUI. Gibson said of Downey: "He was one of the first people to call and offer the hand of friendship. He just said, 'Hey, welcome to the club. Let's go see what we can do to work on ourselves.'" In October 2011, Downey was being honored at the 25th American Cinematheque Awards; Downey chose Gibson to present him with his award for his life's work, and used his air time to say a few kind words about Gibson and explain why he chose him to present the award. Downey maintains that he has been drug-free since July