The actor who can do anything has had a banner year. The extravagantly talented Robert Downey Jr. finally got an Academy Award (and a Bafta) for his supporting role as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer after being acknowledged but not taking home the main prize for his astonishing embodiment of Chaplin more then three decades ago. Let’s not forget he was also nominated for his howlingly funny turn in Tropic Thunder fifteen years back. We’ve been fangirling him since his early days in eye-catching comedy roles on the fringes of the Brat Pack, from Back to School to Weird Science. When he did Less Than Zero his Julian was simply unfathomably addictive as a screen character. Since then he has done every kind of part – singing and dancing too! – and no matter the genre he’s the one we watch. The son of independent filmmaker the late Robert Downey Sr. (commemorated in 2022 documentary Sr.), who gave him his infant debut in Pound and who worked with him consistently through his Hollywood years in his own peripatetic career, his celebrity gained a different taint when he found himself in prison after a drug-related incident in which he slept in his neighbour’s bed. A longtime friend of Mel Gibson who was his biggest support at that time and with whom he co-starred in Air America, he spent the Nineties making all kinds of films with standout performances in everything from Natural Born Killers to Two Girls and a Guy. Stunning turns in Wonder Boys and Zodiac brought him into the new century with mainstream hits which ultimately led to his being cast as Marvel’s own Elon Musk-a-like Tony Stark aka Iron Man, making him Hollywood’s highest paid star in 2013-2015, a remarkable turnaround. With Team Downey, the production company he founded with wife Susan, he produced and starred in a wonderful drama (which had an admittedly odd incestuous subplot) The Judge, opposite Robert Duvall. It was a reminder that he was so much more than a comic book superhero. He made a very amusing speech at the Baftas in which he described his career in 30 seconds. As he said, his success has been bookended by two British directors, Richard Attenborough and Christopher Nolan, but the awards just confirm what we have always known: Robert Downey Jr. is the most exciting actor in the world. Many happy returns and congratulations to Robert Downey Jr.!
mondomovies 