Robert Downey Jr made the comeback of a lifetime to win an Oscar
Featured Image Credit: Getty/John Shearer / Contributor
Robert Downey Jr.’s latest accomplishment is likely going to be one of his most memorable as it represents just how far he has come.
If you grew up watching Robert Downey Jr. in the mid to late Noughties, you would be forgiven for thinking he’d always been a global superstar actor.
He won the hearts of many in two of his most iconic roles as Tony Stark, A.K.A Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes, and who could forget his role in Tropic Thunder as a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude.
His acting career appeared to come to a crescendo in this year’s Academy awards ceremony, as he bagged his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, playing Lewis Stauss in Christopher Nolan’s biopic Oppenheimer.
However, Downey Jr. wasn’t always so successful.
For those aware of his work in the 80s and 90s, many had written the young actor off as a bad egg.
In the mid 90s to early 2000s, Downey was was arrested several times over charges relating to his drug use and addiction.
He had repeatedly gone through drug treatment programs for his addiction to cocaine, heroin and marijuana.
Downey also explained that he had been addicted to drugs since he was eight years old and had even done them with his father growing up.
After missing a required drug test in 1999, the actor was even sentenced to a three-year prison stint and things looked like they were all going downhill.
However, after spending nearly a year in the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State, Downey was freed and seemed determined to getting his life back on track.
The actor did just that and went on to star in some of his best work yet, finally landing him with the most coveted acting award.
Many on social media remarked this as the ‘comeback of a lifetime’ and a testament to what can be achieved through perseverance.
During his acceptance speech, Downey even alluded to his troubled past and thanked those that believed in him anyway.
“I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the Academy, in that order,” he joked.
He then added: “I’d like to thank my veterinarian — I meant wife — Susan Downey over there.
“She found me, a snarling rescue pet, and loved me back to life. That’s why I am here. Thank you.”
Robert Downey Jr. wins his first ever Oscar as he’s awarded Best Supporting Actor
Featured Image Credit: ABC/Mike Coppola / Staff
Robert Downey Jr. was able to beat out some very stiff competition to go home with his first ever Oscar.
You can watch his acceptance speech below:
For anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock the past 20 years, you will likely have seen Robert Downey Jr. being a playboy, philanthropist and billionaire genius on our screens as Iron Man/Tony Stark.
However, following his death in Endgame (no spoiler alert because, well, it was five years ago), the actor has shown he is still able to produce captivating performances in other films.
Sure, he has had some duds… looking at you Dolittle, but the man has been dedicated to his craft for over 40 years and has finally won one of the most coveted awards.
Beating out Mark Ruffallo, Robert De Niro, Sterling K. Brown and Ryan Gosling, Downey Jr. was able to leave the Oscars with the Best Supporting Actor award for his work in Christopher Nolan’s intense biopic, Oppenheimer.
During his acceptance speech, Downey Jr. filled it with jokes and jibes and even poked fun at himself in true charismatic fashion.
Playing former Atomic Energy Commission chairman Lewis Strauss, Downey Jr. brought an intensity that matched Cillian Murphy’s Robert Oppenheimer, a very difficult job considering his track record for brilliant performances as a lead.
Talking about playing the role, Downey Jr has said he became obsessed with the character and it is no question this obsession played into how well he played Strauss.
Speaking to W Magazine, he said: “There have been three times in my career when I became completely obsessed with the possibility of playing a role.
“First time was Chaplin. Second time was Tony Stark, in Iron Man.
“And the third time – I got the trifecta, and you’re lucky if this happens a couple of times – was with Lewis Strauss, for Oppenheimer.
“I knew a little bit about my character because I’m kind of a Cold War enthusiast. I don’t know why I’ve been obsessed with it.
“I think that, sadly, that period informs where we are nowadays in the world. I knew that Strauss was involved in the development of the proximity fuse and that he headed up the Atomic Energy Commission.
“I didn’t really know about [his] rivalry with Oppenheimer. But clearly, after 20 minutes into reading the script, I realized that [it] would be thematic.”
And that performance is one of the reasons why the film was so highly rated by both fans and critics.
The film maintains a score of 8.4/10 on IMDB and an even better Tomatoemeter score of 93 percent and audience score of 91 percent.
