Robert Downey Jr.
Biography
Robert Downey Jr. is an American actor and producer whose screen debut came at age five with a small role in Pound, a film by his father, the filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. He grew up in New York City and worked steadily as a young actor, breaking through in the teen films Weird Science (1985) and Less Than Zero (1987) and earning a BAFTA and an Academy Award nomination for playing Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin (1992). After a Golden Globe-winning turn on the television series Ally McBeal, he reached global fame as Tony Stark in Iron Man (2008) and the Marvel films that followed. He was nominated for an Oscar for Tropic Thunder (2008) and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer (2023). He has also released a jazz-pop album, The Futurist (2004), and made his Broadway debut in McNeal.
61years old
Turns 62 on April 4in 154 days
- Born Greenwich Village
- Star sign: AriesThe sign runs March 21 to April 19
- Robert John Downey (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 71
- Career span
- 51 years1972 to 2023
Genres
First and latest
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Getting ready for a role
Downey trained extensively for his role as Charlie Chaplin in the 1992 biopic Chaplin. He learned to play tennis and the violin left-handed and worked with a coach to copy Chaplin's accent and mannerisms.
Getting ready for a role
Downey shadowed Australian television shock journalist Steve Dunleavy to prepare for his role as reporter Wayne Gale in Natural Born Killers (1994), which helped him develop an Australian accent.
First role
Downey's first stage appearance came in 1983, when he performed in Alms for the Middle Class for three weeks at the Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, New York.
Big break
In 1985, Downey became part of Saturday Night Live's younger cast, getting the audition with an assist from Anthony Michael Hall, his Weird Science co-star and friend. Poor ratings and criticism of the cast's comedy led to his dismissal after a season.
A role that slipped away
Downey was cast to voice the devil on the NBC animated show God, the Devil and Bob, but he lost the role after he missed rehearsals.
Beyond film
Downey released his only studio album, The Futurist, on November 23, 2004, a jazz-pop record on which he played piano on some tracks.
Robert Downey Jr. movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
- Avengers: Endgame2019 Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fias Tony Stark / Iron Man
IMDb rating 8.41.5M votes
Most often with
Robert Downey Sr. directed four of these films, Anthony Russo three and Joe Russo three. Two actors appear in seven of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Scarlett Johansson's page
Paul Bettany's page
Don Cheadle's page
Mark Ruffalo's page
Chris Evans's page
Gwyneth Paltrow's page
All films by Robert Downey Sr.
All films by Anthony Russo
All films by Joe Russo
Also five films together2 more actors
- Jon FavreauSpider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Chef (2014), Iron Man 3 (2013), Iron Man 2 (2010) and Iron Man (2008)
- Tom HollandDolittle (2020), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Captain America: Civil War (2016)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Robert Downey Jr.'s films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$16.0 billion
57 of the 71 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 71 films: 57 worldwide figure; 3 us gross only; 4 never in cinemas; 7 figure not found.
- 57Worldwide figure
- 3US gross only
- 4Never in cinemas
- 7Figure not found
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 75% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$2.8B17.5% of the total
- 2$2.1B12.8% of the total
- 3$1.5B9.5% of the total
- 4$1.4B8.8% of the total
- 5$1.2B7.6% of the total
- 6$1.2B7.2% of the total
- 7$952M5.9% of the total
- 8$881M5.5% of the total
$4.1 billionfrom the other 49 films with a worldwide figure, 25% of the total
Awards
Twelve awards and honors from 1993 to 2024, eight of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | |||
| 2024 | Best Supporting Actor | Oppenheimer | Won |
| Golden Globes | |||
| 2023 | Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Oppenheimer | Won |
| 2010 | Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Sherlock Holmes | Won |
| 2001 | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Ally McBeal | Won |
| 1994 | Awards | Short Cuts | Won |
| BAFTA | |||
| 2024 | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Oppenheimer | Won |
| 1993 | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Won | |
| SAG Awards | |||
| 2001 | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series | Ally McBeal | Won |
| Other honors | |||
| 2023 | Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor | Oppenheimer | Won |
| 2019 | Disney Legends | Honored | |
| 2019 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Won | |
| 2019 | Saturn Award for Best Actor | Avengers: Endgame | Won |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.