Interviewee: Robert Downey
Interviewer: Harry Smith
Date: August 18, 2008

An actor, musician and film producer, Robert Downey Jr. made it to the big screen by starting out as an actor playing parts in his father’s (Robert Downey Sr.) films. Since then, he has worked constantly in the television and film industry.

In the 1980s, Robert Downey Jr. earned roles in various coming of age films associated with Brat Pack. The first time he was greatly acknowledged by critics is in his part in the movie Less Than Zero (1987). Later on, he landed bigger roles in larger films like Air America (1990) and Soapdish (1991). In 1992, he played such a huge role as Charlie Chaplin in the film Chaplin that the Academy Award nominated him for Best Actor.

In 2000, Robert Downey joined in the cast of the hit TV series Ally McBeal. There, he played the new love interest of actress Calista Flockhart’s character. His performance in the series gained him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He too won Best Supporting Actor in a Mini-Series or TV Film at the Golden Globe Awards.

In the early 2000s, he starred in semi-independent films like A Scanner Darkly and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in 2005 and The Singing Detective in 2003. He also did supporting roles in mainstream films like Zodiac in 2007 and Gothika in 2003.

By 2007, Robert Downey Jr. was cast as Iron Man (Tony Stark) in the comic book adaptation of the same name, which was released in the summer of 2008. Apart from gaining commercial success, his acting performance in the movie had rave reviews. Other films he did that same year are Charlie Bartlett and the Ben Stiller comedy Tropic Thunder, where he played an award-winning Australian actor overly absorbed in his movie role as an African-American soldier. Again, he received an Oscar nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actor, which he lost to Heath Ledger who played The Joker in The Dark Knight.

His new movie, Guy Ritchie’s adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, is set to be released this Christmas. Robert Downey Jr. plays Holmes, while co-star Jude Law plays the detective’s assistant Watson.