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 Sr. Robert Downey Sr. Robert John Downey Sr. (born Robert Elias Jr.; June 24, 1935) is a retired American actor, director, producer, writer and cinematographer, and the father of actor Robert Downey Jr. He is best known for writing and directing the underground film "Putney Swope", a satire on the New York Madison Avenue advertising world. According to film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon, the elder Downey's films during the 1960s were "strictly take-no-prisoners affairs, with minimal budgets and outrageous satire, effectively pushing forward the countercultural agenda of the day". Robert John Downey Sr. was born on June 24, 1935 in New