Robert Downey Jr.'s Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Ally McBeal Larry Paul

Main Movie Roles

BIOGRAPHY:

Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) in Greenwich Village, New York City. He's the son of underground filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.

His first part in a movie was in his father's Pound (1970), in which 5-year-old Downey played a puppy. When he was 20 years old, he joined Saturday Night Live (1985) for one season. After that, he went to Hollywood. In 1987, he got the leading role in director James Toback film The Pick-up Artist (1987), co-starring with Molly Ringwald. The same year, he played drug addict Julian Wells in the movie Less Than Zero (1987).

In 1992, he played Charles Chaplin in Sir 'Richard Attenborough's film Chaplin (1992). For his astonishing performance, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In the year 2000, he guest-starred in the comedy series Ally McBeal (1997), where he portrayed the attorney Larry Paul, who became Ally's love interest. For that performance, he won the Golden Globe for "best supporting actor in a comedy series". On Ally McBeal (1997), Downey got to show that he can sing as well as act, when he sang Joni Mitchell's "River," Chances Are as a duet with Vonda Shepard, and "Every Breath You Take" together with Sting. He released one song of his own, "Snakes," on the Ally McBeal (1997) album "For Once in My Life," and a full album of his own work entitled "The Futurist" in 2005.


TRIVIA:

• (24 April 2001) Arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance in Los Angeles after he was found wandering in an alley. He was fired from the TV series _"Ally McBeal" (1997)_ (qv) by producer 'David E. Kelley (I)' (qv) after the arrest.
• He is of Irish and Russian-Jewish ancestry from his father's side and German-Jewish and Scottish descent from his mother's side.
• (17 October 1997) Probation revoked after continued drug use.
• At the age of 10, while living in London, Robert attended the Perry House School in Chelsea and studied classical ballet.
• Starred briefly with his first wife 'Deborah Falconer' (qv) in the 1992 'Robert Altman (I)' (qv) movie _Short Cuts (1993)_ (qv).
• Married his first wife after dating her for only 42 days.
• Met wife 'Susan Downey' (qv) on the set of _Gothika (2003)_ (qv).
• Kept a lot of the authentic vintage clothing he wore in the movie _Chaplin (1992)_ (qv).