At the age of five, he made his acting debut in Robert Downey Sr.'s film "Pound" in 1970. He subsequently worked with the Brat Pack in the teen films "Weird Science" (1985) and "Less Than Zero" (1987). In 1992, Downey portrayed the title character in the biopic "Chaplin", for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won a BAFTA Award. Following a stint at the Corcoran Substance Abuse Treatment Facility on drug charges, he joined the TV series "Ally McBeal", for which he won a Golden Globe Award; however in the wake of two drug charges, one in late 2000 and one in early 2001, he was fired and his character terminated. He stayed in a court-ordered drug treatment program shortly after and has maintained his sobriety since 2003.