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:

• Was roommates with 'Kiefer Sutherland' (qv) in the early '80s.
• Married his first wife after dating her for only 42 days.
• As a result of his father's work ('Robert Downey Sr.' (qv) was (and is) an independent filmmaker), Downey the younger spent a great deal of his childhood on the move. He lived at various points in Connecticut, New York, California, London, Paris, and Woodstock.
• Parents divorced when he was 11.
• He's the first regular cast member of _"Saturday Night Live" (1975)_ (qv) to be nominated for an Academy Award in the category "Best Actor in a Leading Role." 'Joan Cusack' (qv) and 'Dan Aykroyd' (qv) were also nominated for Academy Awards some years before Downey, but both were nominated for supporting roles.
• Claims that his father is the one who introduced him to drugs, by offering him a marijuana joint when he was 8.
• (December 1997) Jailed for 180 days for violating probation.
• (August 1996) Remanded to a secure drug rehabilitation center.