Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965)[1] is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. Downey's career has been characterized by some early success, a period of drug-related problems and run-ins with the law, and a surge in popular and commercial success since the late 2000s.[2] In 2008, Downey was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. From 2013 to 2015, he was listed by Forbes as Hollywood's highest-paid actor.
Robert John Downey Jr. was born on April 4, 1965, in Manhattan, New York City, the younger of two children.[4] His father, Robert Downey Sr., was a filmmaker, while his mother, Elsie Ann (née Ford), was an actress who appeared in Downey Sr.'s films.[5] Downey's father was Jewish, while Downey's mother had Scottish, German, and Swiss ancestry.[6][7][8]
Downey moved often, mainly due to his father's film projects, living in places such as Woodstock, New York, London, New Mexico, California, Connecticut, and Greenwich Village.[9] The family experienced both periods of near-poverty and wealth, depending on the success of the films.[10] As a child, Downey was "surrounded by drugs."[11] His father was a drug addict, and his mother was an alcoholic.[12] His father allowed him to use drugs at a young age; he said that he gave Downey marijuana for the first time at age six and also gave Downey cocaine as a child.[13] His father later said that he regretted it.[4] Downey stated that he and his father did drugs together for the first time when he was eight, and that drug use became an emotional bond between him and his father: "When my dad and I would do drugs together, it was like him trying to express his love for me in the only way he knew how."[14][15][16]
During his childhood, Downey had minor roles in his father's films. He made his acting debut at the age of five, playing a sick puppy in the absurdist comedy film Pound (1970), and then, at seven, appeared in the surrealistWestern film Greaser's Palace (1972).[7] He went to Stagedoor Manor, a summer acting camp in upstate New York, when he was eleven and twelve.[10] Downey's parents divorced in 1977, when he was twelve. He went and lived with his mother in a fifth-floor apartment in New York, as she "needed" him after the divorce, while his sister went to live with their father in California.[14] After a few years, Downey went to live with his father and began attending Santa Monica High School, but dropped out in 1982.[17] At the age of 17, he moved back to New York to pursue an acting career full-time.[18] Downey worked a number of different jobs to support himself while going to auditions, including clearing tables at Central Falls restaurant, working in a shoe store, and performing as "living art" at the nightclub Area.[19][20][21] Meanwhile, Downey got a few parts in local theater and off-Broadway productions. He got his first credited film role in the 1983 film Baby It's You; however, his scenes ended up being cut.[22][23]
Downey began building upon his theater roles, making his debut on stage in 1983 at the Geva Theatre Center in Alms for the Middle Class for a three-week run.[24] He also performed in the short-lived off-Broadway musical American Passion at the Joyce Theater in 1983, produced by Norman Lear.[25] In 1984, Downey got a part in the film Firstborn, where he met Sarah Jessica Parker, and the pair started dating.[26] In 1985, he was part of the new, younger cast hired for Saturday Night Live. Downey has said that Anthony Michael Hall, whom he had met and become friends with on the set of his Weird Science, helped him get the audition.[27] However, he and most of the new crew were dropped and replaced following a year of poor ratings and criticism of the new cast's comedic talents.[18]Rolling Stone magazine named Downey the worst SNL cast member in its entire run, stating that the "Downey Fail sums up everything that makes SNL great."[28]
That same year, Downey had a dramatic acting breakthrough when he played James Spader's sidekick in Tuff Turf and then a bully in John Hughes's Weird Science. Molly Ringwald wanted him for the role of Duckie in John Hughes's 1986 film Pretty in Pink, but the part went to Jon Cryer.[29][30] He went on to star with Ringwald in his first lead role in The Pick-up Artist (1987). Because of these and other coming-of-age films Downey did during the 1980s, he is sometimes named as a member of the Brat Pack.[18][31] Downey moved to Hollywood and lived with fellow actors Billy Zane, who later appeared with Downey in Only You (1994), Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kiefer Sutherland, who starred with Downey in 1969 (1988).[32][33]
In 1987, Downey played Julian Wells, a drug-addicted rich boy whose life rapidly spirals out of his control, in the film version of the Bret Easton Ellis novel Less than Zero. His performance, described by Janet Maslin in The New York Times as "desperately moving,"[34] was widely praised, though Downey has said that for him "the role was like the ghost of Christmas Future" since his drug habit resulted in his becoming an "exaggeration of the character" in real life.[35] Soon after completing the film, Downey went into rehab for the first time; the episode would be followed by a number of interventions and stints in rehab over the next decade prior to his 1996 arrest.[36][37]Zero drove Downey into films with bigger budgets and names, such as Chances Are (1989) with Cybill Shepherd and Ryan O'Neal, Air America (1990) with Mel Gibson, and Soapdish (1991) with Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Cathy Moriarty, and Whoopi Goldberg.[38][39][40]
1996–2001: Addiction-related setbacks and Ally McBeal
From 1996 through 2001, Downey was arrested several times on charges related to drugs, including cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.[53] He went through drug treatment programs and spent time in county jail and prison. He explained in 1999 to a judge: "It's like I have a shotgun in my mouth, and I've got my finger on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gun metal." He said he had been addicted to drugs since the age of eight due to the fact that his father had been giving them to him.[54]
In early 1996, after becoming increasingly concerned for Downey, Sean Penn and Dennis Quaid knocked on his door, took his keys, and took him to a rehab center in Tucson; however, Downey escaped and checked himself out a few days later.[36] In June 1996, Downey was arrested for possession of heroin, cocaine, crack, and an unloaded .357 Magnum handgun while he was speeding down Sunset Boulevard. A month later, while on parole, he wandered into a neighbor's home through the unlocked front door while under the influence of a controlled substance and fell asleep in one of the beds.[55][56] The family refused to press trespassing charges.[37] The tape of the neighbor's 911 call was made available online, and it became known as the "Goldilocks incident".[57] In November 1996, after spending time in court-ordered rehab, he received a further six months of live-in rehab, three years' probation, and was ordered to undergo compulsory drug testing.[37] In 1997, he missed one of the court-ordered drug tests and had to spend six months in the Los Angeles County jail.[58] After being released, he went into a court-ordered 120-day rehab program.[37]
Mugshot from his arrest in August 1999
Mugshot from his arrest in April 2001
In 1999, after being clean during the shooting of Wonder Boys, Downey relapsed. During this time, he was struggling with legal bills and had lost his house in Malibu.[36] After Downey missed another required drug test in 1999, he was arrested again. Despite Downey's lawyer, Robert Shapiro, assembling the same team of lawyers that had successfully defended O. J. Simpson during his criminal trial for murder,[54] Downey was sentenced to a three-year prison term at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran, California.[59] At the time of the arrest, all of Downey's film projects had wrapped and were close to release. He had been hired to provide the voice of the devil on the NBC animated television series God, the Devil and Bob, but was fired when he failed to attend rehearsals.[59][60]
Before the end of his first season on Ally McBeal, Downey was arrested on Thanksgiving in 2000, when his room at Merv Griffin's Hotel and Givenchy Spa in Palm Springs, California, was searched by the police, who were responding to an anonymous 911 call. Downey was under the influence of a controlled substance and in possession of cocaine and valium.[65][66]Rolling Stone later ran a six-page investigation into the weekend's events.[36] Despite the fact that, if convicted, he would have faced a prison sentence of up to four years and eight months, he signed on to appear in at least eight more Ally McBeal episodes.[67]
In April 2001, while Downey was on parole, a Los Angeles police officer found him wandering barefoot in Culver City. He was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs but was released a few hours later,[68] even though tests showed he had cocaine in his system.[69] After this last arrest, Ally McBeal executives ordered last-minute rewrites and reshoots and fired Downey, despite the fact that Downey's character had resuscitated Ally McBeal's ratings.[70] The Culver City arrest also cost him a role in the high-profile film America's Sweethearts,[69] and the subsequent incarceration prompted Gibson to cancel his Hamlet production. In July 2001, Downey pleaded no contest to the Palm Springs charges, avoiding jail time. Instead, he was sent into drug rehabilitation and received three years of probation, benefiting from California Proposition 36, which had been passed the year before with the aim of helping nonviolent drug offenders overcome their addictions instead of sending them to jail.[4][71] Downey spent a year at the court-ordered drug-treatment facility. By this time, Downey was homeless, too much of an insurance liability to be employable, and on the verge of bankruptcy.[36]
The book Conversations with Woody Allen reports that director Woody Allen wanted to cast Downey and Winona Ryder in his 2003 film Melinda and Melinda but was unable to do so because he could not get insurance on them. Allen stated, "We couldn't get bonded. The completion bonding companies would not bond the picture unless we could insure them. We were heartbroken because I had worked with Winona before [on Celebrity] and thought she was perfect for this and wanted to work with her again. And I had always wanted to work with Bob Downey and always thought he was a huge talent."[72]
In a December 18, 2000, article for People magazine titled "Bad to Worse", Downey's stepmother, Rosemary, told author Alex Tresnlowski that Downey had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder "a few years ago" and added that this was "the reason he has a hard time staying sober. What hasn't been tried is medication and intensive psychotherapy."[73] In the same article, Dr. Manijeh Nikakhtar, a Los Angeles psychiatrist and co-author of Addiction or Self-Medication: The Truth, claimed she received a letter from Downey in 1999, during his time at Corcoran II, asking for advice on his condition. She discovered that "no one had done a complete [psychiatric] evaluation [on him] ... I asked him flat out if he thought he was bipolar, and he said, 'Oh yeah. There are times I spend a lot of money and I'm hyperactive, and there are other times I'm down.'"[73]
In an article for the March 2007 issue of Esquire, Downey stated that he wanted to address "this whole thing about the bipolar" after receiving a phone call from "the Bipolar Association" asking him about being bipolar. When Downey denied he had ever said he was bipolar, the caller quoted the People article, to which Downey replied, "'No! Dr. Malibusian said [I said I was bipolar] ... ', and they go, 'Well, it's been written, so we're going to quote it.'"[74] Downey flatly denied being "depressed or manic" and said that previous attempts to diagnose him with any kind of psychiatric or mood disorder have always been skewed because "the guy I was seeing didn't know I was smokin' crack in his bathroom. You can't make a diagnosis until somebody's sober."[74]
2001–2007: Recovery and comeback
After five years of substance abuse, arrests, rehabilitation, and relapse, Downey was ready to work toward a full recovery from drugs and return to his career. In discussing his failed attempts to control his addictive behavior in the past, Downey told Oprah Winfrey in November 2004 that "when someone says, 'I really wonder if maybe I should go to rehab?' Well, uh, you're a wreck, you just lost your job, and your wife left you. Uh, you might want to give it a shot."[75] He added that after his last arrest in April 2001, when he knew he would likely be facing another stint in prison or another form of incarceration such as court-ordered rehab, "I said, 'You know what? I don't think I can continue doing this.' And I reached out for help, and I ran with it. You can reach out for help in kind of a half-assed way and you'll get it and you won't take advantage of it. It's not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems ... what's hard is to decide to do it."[75]
Downey got his first post-rehabilitation acting job in August 2001, lip-syncing in the video for Elton John's single "I Want Love".[76] Video director Sam Taylor-Wood shot 16 takes of the video and used the last one because, according to John, Downey looked completely relaxed and "the way he underplays it is fantastic."[77] Downey was able to return to the big screen after Mel Gibson, who had been a close friend to Downey since both had co-starred in Air America, paid Downey's insurance bond for the 2003 film The Singing Detective (directed by his Back to School co-star Keith Gordon).[3] Gibson's gamble paved the way for Downey's comeback, and Downey returned to mainstream films in the mid-2000s with Gothika, for which producer Joel Silver withheld 40% of Downey's salary until after production wrapped as insurance against his addictive behavior. Similar clauses became standard in his contracts throughout the 2000s.[78] Silver, who was getting closer to Downey as he dated his assistant Susan Levin (later Susan Downey), also got the actor the leading role in the comedy thrillerKiss Kiss Bang Bang, the directorial debut of screenwriter Shane Black.[79]
On November 23, 2004, Downey released his debut musical album, The Futurist, on Sony Classical, for which he designed the cover art and the track listing label on the CD with his son Indio.[82] The album received mixed reviews,[83][84] but Downey stated in 2006 that he probably would not do another album, as he felt that the energy he put into doing the album was not compensated.[85] In 2006, Downey returned to television when he did voice acting on Family Guy in the episode "The Fat Guy Strangler". Downey had previously telephoned the show's production staff and asked if he could produce or assist in episode creation, as his son Indio is a fan of the show. The producers of the show accepted the offer and created the character of Patrick Pewterschmidt, Lois Griffin's long-lost, mentally disturbed brother, for Downey.[86]
Downey signed on with publisher HarperCollins to write a memoir, which in 2006 was already being billed as a "candid look at the highs and lows of his life and career." In 2008, however, Downey returned his advance to the publishers and canceled the book without further comment.[87] In 2007, Downey appeared in David Fincher's mystery thriller Zodiac, which was based on a true story. He played the role of San Francisco Chronicle journalist Paul Avery, who was reporting on the Zodiac Killer case.[88]
Despite all of the critical success Downey had experienced throughout his career, he had not appeared in a "blockbuster" film. That changed in 2008, when Downey starred in two critically and commercially successful films, Iron Man and Tropic Thunder. In the article Ben Stiller wrote for Downey's entry in the 2008 edition of The Time 100, he offered an observation on Downey's commercially successful summer at the box office:
Yes, Downey is Iron Man, but he really is Actor Man... In the realm where box office is irrelevant and talent is king, the realm that actually means something, he has always ruled, and finally this summer he gets to have his cake and let us eat him up all the way to the multiplex, where his mastery is in full effect.
—Ben Stiller, The 2008 Time 100, entry No. 60, "Robert Downey Jr."[89]
In 2007, Downey was cast as the title character in the film Iron Man,[90] with director Jon Favreau explaining the choice by stating, "Downey wasn't the most obvious choice, but he understood what makes the character tick. He found a lot of his own life experience in 'Tony Stark'."[91] Favreau insisted on having Downey, as he repeatedly claimed that Downey would be to Iron Man what Johnny Depp is to the Pirates of the Caribbean series: a lead actor who could both elevate the quality of the film and increase the public's interest in it.[55][92][93][94] For the role, Downey had to gain more than 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of muscle in five months to look like he "had the power to forge iron."[95]
Iron Man was released worldwide between April 30 and May 3, 2008, grossing over $585million worldwide[96] and receiving rave reviews that cited Downey's performance as a highlight of the film.[97][98][99] By October 2008, Downey had agreed to star in two Iron Man sequels, as part of the Iron Man franchise, as well as The Avengers, featuring the superhero team that Stark joins, based on Marvel's comic book series The Avengers.[100] He first reprised the role in a small appearance as Iron Man's alter ego Tony Stark in the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, as a part of Marvel Studios' depicting the same Marvel Universe on film by providing continuity among the movies.[101]
After Iron Man, Downey appeared alongside Ben Stiller and Jack Black in the Stiller-directed Tropic Thunder. The three actors play a Hollywood archetype, with Downey playing self-absorbed multi-Oscar-winning Australian method actor Kirk Lazarus–as they star in an extremely expensive Vietnam-era film called Tropic Thunder. Lazarus undergoes a "controversial skin pigmentation procedure" in order to take on the role of African-American platoon sergeant Lincoln Osiris, which requires Downey to wear dark makeup and a wig. Both Stiller and Downey feared Downey's portrayal of the character could become controversial:
Stiller says that he and Downey always stayed focused on the fact that they were skewering insufferable actors, not African Americans. "I was trying to push it as far as you can within reality", Stiller explains. "I had no idea how people would respond to it". Stiller screened a rough cut of the film [in March 2008] and it scored high with African Americans. He was relieved at the reaction. "It seems people really embrace it", he said.[102]
When asked by Harry Smith on CBS's The Early Show who his model was for Lazarus, Downey laughed before responding, "Sadly, my sorry-ass self."[103]
Released in the United States on August 13, 2008, Tropic Thunder received good reviews, with 83% of reviews positive and an average normalized score of 71, according to the review aggregator websites Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, respectively.[104][105] It earned US$26million in its North American opening weekend and retained the number one position for its first three weekends of release. The film grossed $180million in theaters before its release on home video on November 18, 2008. Downey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Lazarus.[106]
Opening in late April 2009 was a film Downey finished in mid-2008, The Soloist. The film was delayed from a November 2008 release by Paramount Pictures due to the studio's tight end-of-year release schedule.[107] Critics who had seen the film in 2008 were mentioning it as a possible Academy Award candidate.[108] Downey picked up an Academy Award nomination for the 2008 release year for his role in Tropic Thunder.[109]
The first role Downey accepted after Iron Man was Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie's adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. Warner Bros. released it on December 25, 2009.[110] The film set several box office records in the United States for a Christmas Day release, beating the previous record-holder, 2008's Marley & Me, by nearly $10 million, and finished second to Avatar in a record-setting Christmas weekend box office. Sherlock Holmes ended up being the 8th highest-grossing film of 2009.[111][112] When Downey won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his role as Sherlock Holmes, he noted in his acceptance speech that he had prepared no remarks because "Susan Downey told me that Matt Damon was going to win so don't bother preparing a speech."[113]
Downey returned as Tony Stark in the first of two planned sequels to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, which was released in May 2010. Iron Man 2 grossed over $623 million worldwide, becoming the 7th highest-grossing film of 2010.[114] Downey's other commercial film release of 2010 was the comedy road film, Due Date. The movie, co-starring Zach Galifianakis, was released in November 2010[115] and grossed over $211 million worldwide, making it the 36th highest-grossing movie of 2010.[116] Downey's sole 2011 film credit was Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which opened worldwide on December 16, 2011.[117]
In 2020, Downey starred in Dolittle, playing the titular character, depicted in the film as a 19th-century Welsh veterinarian who can communicate with animals. This was the second film from Team Downey. It was a box office disappointment and received negative reviews from critics, who called it "too long [and] lifeless."[126]
Downey's most commercially successful recording venture to date (combining sales and radio airplay) has been his remake of the 1973 Joni Mitchell Christmas song "River", which was included on the Ally McBeal tie-in album Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas, released in 2000; Downey's character Larry Paul performs the song in the Ally McBeal episode "Tis the Season".[141]
Business
On June 14, 2010, Downey and his wife Susan opened their own production company called Team Downey. Their first project was The Judge.[142] In 2024, Downey launched a coffee company named Happy with Craig Dubitsky.[143]
Personal life
Relationships and marriages
Downey started dating actress Sarah Jessica Parker in 1984 after meeting her on the set of Firstborn. They were both 18 and moved in together after eight weeks of dating.[26] The couple separated eight years later, in 1991, due to his drug addiction.[144]
Downey married actress and singer Deborah Falconer on May 29, 1992, after a 42-day courtship.[145] Their son was born in September 1993.[146] The strain on their marriage from Downey's repeated trips to rehab and jail finally reached a breaking point; in 2001, in the midst of Downey's last arrest and sentencing to an extended stay in rehab, Falconer left Downey and took their son with her.[145] Downey and Falconer finalized their divorce on April 26, 2004.
In 2003, Downey met producer Susan Levin, an executive vice president of production at Joel Silver's film company, Silver Pictures, on the set of Gothika.[3] Though Susan twice turned down his romantic advances, she and Downey did quietly strike up a romance during production.[147] Despite Susan's worries that the romance would not last after the completion of shooting given that "he's an actor; I have a real job,"[147] the couple's relationship continued after production wrapped on Gothika, and Downey proposed to Susan on the night before her thirty-first birthday.[147] In August 2005, the couple were married in a Jewish ceremony at Amagansett, New York.[148][149] A tattoo on one of his biceps reads "Suzie Q" in tribute to her.[150] The Downeys' first child, a son, was born in February 2012,[151] and their second, a daughter, was born in November 2014.[152][153][154]
Downey has been a close friend of Mel Gibson since they starred in Air America. Downey defended Gibson during the controversy surrounding The Passion of the Christ and said "nobody's perfect" in reference to Gibson's 2006 DUI.[155] Gibson said of Downey: "He was one of the first people to call and offer the hand of friendship. He just said, 'Hey, welcome to the club. Let's go see what we can do to work on ourselves.'"[156] In October 2011, Downey was honored at the 25th American Cinematheque Awards. Downey chose Gibson to present him with his award for his life's work and used his air time to say a few kind words about Gibson and explain why he chose him to present the award.[157]
Sobriety
Downey says he has been drug-free since July 2003[158] and credits his wife with helping him overcome his drug and alcohol habits, along with his family, therapy, meditation, twelve-step recovery programs, yoga, and the practice of Wing Chunkung fu,[35] the martial art he learned from Eric Oram, who is also a fight consultant in several of Downey's movies.[159][160] Oram was Downey's personal fight coordinator in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War.[161] In December 2015, Downey was chosen as one of 91 people to be pardoned by the Governor of California, Jerry Brown, for his prior drug offenses. The pardon does not erase Downey's criminal record, but it does allow him to serve on a jury.[162][163] Oram wrote a letter in support of Downey's pardon to Governor Brown.[164] When asked on The Oprah Winfrey Show how he was able to make his sobriety stick this time, Downey said, "It's really not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems. What's hard is to decide to do it."[165]
In 2014, Downey has described his religious beliefs as "Jewish Buddhist".[166] In the past, Downey has been interested in Christianity and the Hare Krishna movement.[166]
Political views
In a 2008 interview, Downey stated that his time in prison changed his political point of view somewhat, saying: "I have a really interesting political point of view, and it's not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you can't go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal. You can't. I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone else, but it was very, very, very educational for me and has informed my proclivities and politics ever since."[167]
However, when asked about the quote in a 2015 interview to promote Avengers: Age of Ultron, he denied that his previous statement reflected any longstanding beliefs on his part and stated, "I wouldn't say that I'm a Republican or a liberal or a Democrat."[168]
Downey serves on the board of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, a nonprofit organization that advocates for criminal justice reform to reduce incarceration, improve the outcomes of formerly incarcerated individuals, and build healthier communities.[174]
Environmentalism
In January 2020, during the promotion of his film Dolittle, Downey announced that he had made the decision to adopt a vegan diet in response to the debate about the climate crisis, stating that "I'm a one-man carbon footprint nightmare colossus"[175] and believing he can do his part to contribute. Downey previously announced the opening of Footprint Coalition, an organization he launched to reduce carbon footprints around the world using advanced technology.[176] The Footprint Coalition promotes technologies that protect the environment, such as French insect-farming startup Ynsect,[177] the bio-based alternative to plastic manufacturer RWDC,[178] and bamboo toilet paper manufacturer Cloud Paper.[179][180]
In January 2024, Downey stated that he was a pescetarian and had to give up his vegan diet due to low levels of vitamin B12, calcium, and iron.[181] He co-authored Cool Food: Erasing Your Carbon Footprint One Bite at a Time, which advocates a low-carbon plant-based diet to reduce carbon footprints.[181][182]
Downey has appeared in over 70 films over the course of his career.[183] According to Rotten Tomatoes, Downey's most commercially successful films include Tropic Thunder, Oppenheimer, the Sherlock Holmes film series, and several Marvel Studios films, including Captain America: Civil War and the Iron Man and Avengers series.[184] Downey's films have grossed over $14 billion worldwide, making him the third highest-grossing actor of all time, according to The Numbers.[185] He was named Hollywood's highest-paid actor by Forbes from 2013 to 2015.[186][187] He has received various accolades, including two BAFTA Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and one Academy Award.[132][183][188]
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of multiple accolades, he is known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocalyptic action series Mad Max and as Martin Riggs in the buddy cop action-comedy film series Lethal Weapon.
Jonathan Kolia Favreau is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as Rudy (1993), PCU (1994), Swingers (1996), Very Bad Things (1998), Deep Impact (1998), The Replacements (2000), Daredevil (2003), The Break-Up (2006), Four Christmases (2008), Couples Retreat (2009), I Love You, Man (2009), People Like Us (2012), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), and Chef (2014).
Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Jon Favreau from a screenplay by the writing teams of Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, and Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man alongside Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb, and Shaun Toub. In the film, following his escape from captivity by a terrorist group, world-famous industrialist and master engineer Stark builds a mechanized suit of armor and becomes the superhero Iron Man.
Tropic Thunder is a 2008 satirical action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, who wrote the screenplay with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. The film stars Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, and Brandon T. Jackson as a group of prima donna actors making a Vietnam War film. When their frustrated director drops them in the middle of a jungle and dies in an accident, they are forced to rely on their acting skills to survive the real action and danger. Tropic Thunder parodies many prestigious war films, the Hollywood studio system, and method acting. The ensemble cast includes Nick Nolte, Danny McBride, Matthew McConaughey, Bill Hader, and Tom Cruise.
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Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the sequel to Iron Man (2008) and the third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Jon Favreau and written by Justin Theroux, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson. Set six months after the events of Iron Man, the film follows Tony Stark as he resists calls from the United States government to hand over the Iron Man technology, which is causing his declining health. Meanwhile, Russian scientist Ivan Vanko (Rourke) uses his own version of the technology to pursue a vendetta against the Stark family.
Iron Man 3 is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010), and the seventh film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Shane Black from a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce, and stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stéphanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, William Sadler, Miguel Ferrer, Jon Favreau, and Ben Kingsley. In the film, Stark grapples with the consequences of the events of The Avengers (2012) during a national terrorism campaign on the United States led by the mysterious Mandarin.
Ty Keegan Simpkins is an American actor. His notable film credits include Insidious (2011), its sequel Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), Jurassic World (2015), and Insidious: The Red Door (2023). He is also known for his appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Harley Keener in Iron Man 3 (2013) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), as well as the independent film The Whale (2022).
Avengers: Age of Ultron is a 2015 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to The Avengers (2012) and the 11th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Written and directed by Joss Whedon, the film features an ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Linda Cardellini, Stellan Skarsgård, James Spader, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the film, the Avengers fight Ultron (Spader)—an artificial intelligence created by Tony Stark (Downey) and Bruce Banner (Ruffalo)—who plans to bring about world peace by causing human extinction.
American actor Robert Downey Jr. made his acting debut in 1970's Pound, directed by his father Robert Downey Sr., at the age of five. In the 1980s, Downey was considered a member of the Brat Pack after appearing in the films Weird Science with Anthony Michael Hall (1985), Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield (1986), Less than Zero with Andrew McCarthy (1987), and Johnny Be Good again with Hall (1988). Downey also starred in the films True Believer (1989) and Chances Are (1989), and was a regular cast member on the late-night variety show Saturday Night Live in 1985.
Captain America: Civil War is a 2016 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), and the 13th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo from a screenplay by the writing team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America alongside an ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Marisa Tomei, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, Martin Freeman, William Hurt, and Daniel Brühl. In Captain America: Civil War, disagreement over international oversight of the Avengers fractures the team into two opposing factions—one led by Steve Rogers and the other by Tony Stark (Downey).
Anthony Edward Stark, or Tony Stark, is a fictional character primarily portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise —based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name— commonly known by his alias, Iron Man. Stark is initially depicted as an industrialist, genius inventor, and former playboy who is CEO of Stark Industries. Initially the chief weapons manufacturer for the U.S. military, he has a change of heart and redirects his technical knowledge into creating mechanized suits of armor, which he uses to defend Earth.
James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a fictional character originally portrayed by Terrence Howard and subsequently by Don Cheadle in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. He is initially depicted as a U.S. Air Force officer who is the best friend of Tony Stark. A skilled pilot and tactician, he becomes involved in Stark's heroic efforts, gaining his own suit of Iron Man armor in the process while taking on the alias War Machine, and later the Iron Patriot.
Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The MCU is the shared universe in which all of the films are set. The phase began in 2013 with the release of Iron Man 3 and concluded in 2015 with the release of Ant-Man. Kevin Feige produced every film in the phase. Joss Whedon served as a consultant on all films as well as writer and director of the crossover film Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).
Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The MCU is the shared universe in which all of the films are set. The phase began in May 2008 with the release of Iron Man and concluded in May 2012 with the release of The Avengers. Kevin Feige produced every film in the phase, with Avi Arad also producing Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, and Gale Anne Hurd also producing The Incredible Hulk.
The Avengers are a team of fictional superheroes and the protagonists of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Marvel Comics team of the same name created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963. Founded by S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, the team is a United States–based organization composed primarily of superpowered and gifted individuals, described as "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", who are committed to the world's protection from a variety of threats. The Avengers are depicted as operating in the state of New York: originally from the Avengers Tower in Midtown Manhattan and subsequently in the Avengers Compound in Upstate New York. Arranged as an ensemble of core MCU characters originally consisting of Tony Stark / Iron Man, Steve Rogers / Captain America, Thor Odinson, Bruce Banner / Hulk, Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, and Clint Barton / Hawkeye, it later expands to include 16 total members. Regarded as an important part of the franchise, they are central to the MCU's first 23 films, collectively known as the Infinity Saga. The Avengers from alternate universes were depicted in subsequent MCU properties across the Multiverse Saga, including appearances in the Disney+ animated series What If...? (2021–present) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). A new incarnation of the Avengers are set to return in Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). Both films will be part of the MCU's Phase Six, concluding the Multiverse Saga.
Tony Stark has worn different versions of the Iron Man armor throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). He has also built armor for James Rhodes, the Iron Spider suit for Peter Parker, and Pepper Potts' Rescue armor.
↑ Ebert, Roger (April 24, 1998). "Two Girls and a Guy". RogerEbert.com. Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
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