In 1992, he starred in the film Chaplin, a biopic based on the life of the legendary comic. Downey was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in the role and spent a few years enjoying the life of a Hollywood movie star. Living with an addiction is difficult and may make someone with a substance use disorder think they’re alone. Maybe after recognizing that their favorite celebrity has struggled with addiction as well, they can start to understand that many people share their struggles. It’s important for celebrities and public figures to share their stories because it demonstrates a shared experience and can help encourage people with substance use disorder to seek treatment. He isn’t afraid to talk about his addiction, which has helped to de-stigmatize addiction and encourages conversations about getting help.

• If you don’t, it will get rid of the other one.” But it didn’t stick.
• “So there was a lot of combination of things I wasn’t prepared for.
• During this same year, he was ordered to attend drug rehab and was given three years of probation.
• In 2003, he met his wife Susan Levin and became fully committed to sobriety.
• He didn’t have a home, his estranged wife had filed for divorce, and he had no financial safety net.

As a result, Downey was sentenced to three years of probation and drug rehabilitation. The other inmates refer to him as Mo’ Downey and five days a week he worked the cafeteria line for eight cents an hour, doling out food, washing dishes and scraping pizza pans clean in piping hot water. Cleaning was a big part of his time there, telling stories kitchen mishaps where a gigantic bag of gravy ripped open and he had to mop it up. At one time, Robert Downey Jr found himself wading in a pool of garbage, “33 gallons of garbage water… like 500 pounds of slop.

Inspiring Stories of Celebrities Who Have Overcome Addiction

He spent years in and out of rehab, sobering up, slipping up, and getting arrested. The actor says he used drugs at a very young age and spent most of his early career under its influence. In 2003, Downey’s fortunes changed when he met his wife Susan Levin. The actor claims that Levin is the one who convinced him to turn his life around. Levin reportedly told Downey that she would not tie the knot with him unless he quit drugs altogether. From the start, acting was a natural thing, separated from everyday walking around by the flimsiest of curtains.

“You know, I think we would be remiss to not discuss its effect on me,” he told his father, who said, “Boy, I could sure love to miss that discussion.” If you like similar stories about recovery, check out our the blog post about 5 Famous Recovery Stories. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Gunman at large after shooting 9 people in Cleveland’s historic Warehouse District

In August of 1999, Robert Downey Jr made an appearance before the judge asking for clemency. His defense attorney was none other than Robert Shapiro (who famously defended OJ Simpson). Fellow actor Sean Penn saw Robert Downey Jr wasting away and, at one point, Penn took away the young actor’s keys, kicked his front door down, and drove him to rehab, saying “You have two reputations. I think you know what both of them are, and I think you’d do well to get rid of one of those reputations. If you don’t, it will get rid of the other one.” But it didn’t stick.

• He then was arrested two more times and spent six months in rehab due to a court order.
• At some point, Julian, wasted party boy, product of radical West Coast excess, morphed into Downey, spawn of Hollywood, drugs, movies, and the rest of it.
• I mean, here was a character that millions of people had already imagined.
• With the right tools in place and with a solid support system, anyone is capable of getting sober and staying clean long-term.
• If, years later, he got a second and a third chance when he was in trouble, this is probably when he earned it.

While he was awaiting trial, he wandered into his neighbor’s house in Malibu, stripped to his underwear, and curled up into the empty bed the neighbors’ 11yo son. When he was discovered, the neighbor thought her son had fallen asleep early only to discover a man in the bed she did not recognize (at the time). She tried to awake him, but was unable to, and called the police – she did not file trespassing charges. For ten years, Robert Downey Jr has been in the spotlight, known to millions as the iconic Iron Man (aka Tony Stark) leading the world’s most lucrative movie franchise in history (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

Robert Downey Jr.’s Incredible Comeback From Addiction

The right treatment program can help you identify the underlying causes of your substance abuse. Therapy, from CBT to DBT to EMDR, helps individuals address the root causes of their addiction and learn coping skills to avoid triggers and cravings. Medications can also be used to help manage withdrawal symptoms and reduce the risk of relapse.

Robert Downey Jr. was born in 1965 and was exposed to drugs at an early age by his father. He ended up using drugs to bond with his father, which he states led him to continue using drugs and getting drunk throughout his 20s and 30s. In 1987, Downey Jr. starred in Less Than Zero, which kick-started his acting career. He continued using drugs and alcohol while he https://www.healthworkscollective.com/how-choose-sober-house-tips-to-focus-on/ acted in a number of movies after this, staying sober enough to film and then going on days-long benders. In 1995, he was arrested multiple times and spent time in various rehab facilities. The same pattern continued in 1996 when the police stopped him for speeding and found him high, in possession of heroin and cocaine, and having a firearm on his front seat.

As Yankee Stadium was the house that Ruth built, this is the house that Iron Man built. Robert and Susan purchased it not long after the grosses came in—seven acres above the Pacific. Downey lives with his wife and two-and-a-half-year-old son, Exton, as well as a coffee machine and cats. He has a chef and a handful of assistants, including a do-everything body man, blue-eyed Jimmy Rich, who has “Iron Man” tattooed on his calf. (Hope he never gets fired.) Downey has tattoos of his own, including “Suzie Q” on his shoulder, in tribute to his wife.

Downey was nominated for an Academy Award but lost to Al Pacino, who won for Scent of a Woman. There’s nothing so precarious as the life of an actor who is beloved by intellectuals but does not earn. However, despite being one of the most talented actors, his career hasn’t been immune to controversy, whether it be jail or drugs.

Years of Addiction During Robert Downey Jr.’s Rise to Fame

“And I thought he was casting a spell on me,” he continued. Robert Downey Jr. is opening up about his year in prison — and why it was the “worst thing” that ever happened to him. “Friends” star Matthew Perry struggled for decades to get sober, entering 65 detox centers, which he describes with unflinching detail in his new memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. In the book, Perry reveals how his using led to him requiring surgery which had only a 2% chance of survival.

• With his drug use spiraling out of control, Downey was arrested in 1996 for possession of drugs that included heroin and cocaine.
• “In a documentary, particularly if you’re working with [director] Chris Smith, you’re not going to do something that’s easily assailable,” he added.
• He’s incredibly grateful to his wife for supporting him throughout his treatment.

The cult filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. also had a substance use disorder and allowed his son to try marijuana at the age of six. According to a 1996 People article, drugs facilitated an emotional bond between father and son. Despite his legal problems, Downey has never suffered in terms of a lack of offers when it comes to his work. The actor, who was nominated for an Oscar for his 1992 performance in Chaplin, has continued acting in between his stints in jail and rehab over the last seven years.

In the second, after returning from prison, he re-invented a genre and re-filled the coffers. In the third, which begins now, he’s a producer and filmmaker, the co-head, with his wife, Susan Downey, of his own production company, Team Downey, which this month How to Choose a Sober House: Tips to Focus on debuts its first feature, The Judge. In it, Downey plays prodigal son to Robert Duvall, who stands for all those fathers who find us wanting. Downey has since reprised this role in nearly a dozen films, including The Avengers and several Iron Man sequels.

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