Erin E. MacDonald - Robert Downey Jr. from Brat to Icon: Essays on the Film Career

Also by ERIN E. MACDONALD

Ed McBain/Evan Hunter: A Literary Companion (2012).

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

e-ISBN: 978-1-4766-1703-9

2014 Erin E. MacDonald. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

On the cover: Robert Downey Jr. in The Pick-up Artist, 1987 (Photofest)

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
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For two Roberts:
my husband, Robert Joseph Muhlbock,
who knows the importance of obsession,
and Robert Downey Jr.,
who knows the importance of balance.

Comedy performer Dan Kamin kindly answered my multiple questions about his work on Chaplin over e-mail and allowed me to quote freely from the postscript to his book, The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin: Artistry in Motion. Acknowledgment must also go to the webmistresses, including GinaB, at Downey Unlimited for compiling such a comprehensive database of Downey articles, interviews, and videos, many of which were next to impossible to find in their original forms and were therefore consulted as research. Dandychick.coms RDJ Film Guide was also helpful, as were my colleague and friend Stefanie Ketleys kind comments on a couple of my chapters. To all the contributors whose insights and enthusiasm made such a collection possible, to Jason Davids Scott for organizing a great Downey panel at the Mid-Atlantic Popular American Culture Association conference in Atlantic City, and to all others who expressed interest in the project, a warm thank you. Finally, thanks as always to my familyto Rob, for helping with some of the technological aspects of the book, and to Emma and Rory (and our two cats, Tony and Pepper), for their patience.

Robert Downey Jr. may be best known as Iron Man, but his career as an actor stretches back to the 1970s and features several Oscar-quality roles. He has worked with a wide range of innovative directors from Oliver Stone and Robert Altman to Richard Linklater and Shane Black and has played punk kids, detectives, journalists, and even a serial killer.

This fascinating collection of essays combines scholarly attention to detail with a highly readable style to examine, in roughly chronological order, more than twenty-five of Downeys best performances in films as diverse as Less Than Zero, Chaplin, Natural Born Killers, A Scanner Darkly, The Soloist, and Tropic Thunder. Including a biography, chronology, and filmography, the book overall highlights the inseparability of the actors biography from his works and from the unique combination of talents that he brings to his roles.

1965Born April 4 in Manhattan to actress Elsie Ford and filmmaker Robert Downey. Sister Allyson born two years earlier.

1970Appeared in first film, Pound, an absurdist comedy directed by his father.

1972Moved to Sante Fe, New Mexico, to film Robert Downey Sr.s Greasers Palace.

1973While living in Connecticut, became best friends with future musician, Moby.

1975Moved to London, England; attended Perry House School.

1976Moved back to the U.S., attended Stagedoor Manor summer acting camp in the Catskills.

1977Lived in Woodstock, NY, teaching self to play piano; returned to Stagedoor for the summer; moved with his mother back to NYC when parents separated.

1978Parents officially separated.

1980After moving to L.A. to live with father, appeared in fathers film Up the Academy. Joined Santa Monica High School choral group, learned tap dancing, and performed in school productions including Oklahoma!, The Rivals, and DetectiveStory.

1982Moved back to New York after dropping out of Santa Monica High; father refused to support him. Worked as busboy, shoe salesman, and living art. Joined local theater group and earned roles in Off Broadway productions, at which an agent spotted him. Started auditioning.

1983Appeared in plays Alms for the Middle Class, Fraternity, and Off Broadway musical, American Passion, produced by Norman Lear, at Joyce Theatre. Briefly appeared in first Hollywood film, Baby Its You (dubbed Maybe Its You by friends).

1984Met Sarah Jessica Parker on set of Firstborn; began seven-year relationship.

1985With friend Anthony Michael Hall, joined cast of Saturday Night Live for one season. Got supporting roles in Tuff Turf and Weird Science and also appeared in Girls Just Want to Have Fun, short film Deadwait, and TV miniseries, Mussolini: The Untold Story.

1986Appeared in Back to School and America.

1987First lead role opposite Molly Ringwald in The Pick-up Artist. Played drug addicted rich kid Julian Wells in adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis novel, Less Than Zero, earning first major critical acclaim.

1988Played minor roles in Johnny Be Good, Rented Lips; co-starred with Kiefer Sutherland in 1969. Entered rehab for first time, for cocaine addiction (28 days in a facility in Arizona).

1989Appeared in Thats Adequate; co-starred in True Believer with James Woods and Chances Are with Cybill Shepherd.

1990Co-starred with Mel Gibson in Air America; appeared in fathers film, Too Much Sun.

1991Minor role in Soapdish; left by Sarah Jessica Parker; started researching role for Chaplin.

1992Met and married (May 29) model/singer/actress Deborah Falconer after 42-day courtship. Featured in political documentary The Last Party, as narrator; starred as Charlie Chaplin in Richard Attenborough biopic, Chaplin.

1993Starred in Heart and Souls; appeared in Robert Altmans Short Cuts. Nominated for Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Chaplin; won BAFTA award. September 7: son Indio Falconer Downey born.

1994Appeared in Hail Caesar, Natural Born Killers, and Only You. Won Saturn award for Best Actor for Heart and Souls, Golden Globe for Best Ensemble Cast for Short Cuts.

1995Starred in Restoration; co-starred in Richard III, Mr. Willowbys Christmas Tree (a Muppets special), Home for the Holidaysused heroin during filming for first time.

1996Co-starred with Billy Zane in Danger Zone. April: Deborah left. Sean Penn broke into his house, kidnapped him, and took him to rehab in Arizona, which he fled. June: Stopped while speeding down Sunset Boulevard and arrested for possession of heroin, cocaine, and a concealed unloaded .357 Magnum handgun. July: Found passed out in childs bed in a neighbors home in Goldilocks incident; revived by paramedics; ordered into rehab at Exodus in Marina Del Rey, escaped days later but captured and returned. November: Sentenced to six more months of rehab, three years of probation, and compulsory drug testing; received leave from rehab to host