As has been well-documented here, Robert Downey Jr. stars in this weekend's new A-list comedy release, Due Date. But I was wondering: How did Downey get to this point from his big screen debut at the age of 5? You can always trace a direct line through a handful of roles to illustrate what led to an actor's current success, but with Downey, that line has more ups and downs than most elevators in Hollywood. So let's look at seven performances -- including his very first -- that trace the evolution of one Robert John Downey Jr.
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Pound (1970)
Aw, look at him. He's only 5! And he's playing a puppy! Written and directed by Robert Downey Sr., the microbudget satire follows 18 dogs -- yes, played by humans -- awaiting adoption at the pound. Searing cult classic that it is, Pound's
longevity definitely wasn't hurt by featuring the first screen appearance of the future Tony Stark. RDJ himself, however, could have felt a little better about this and the other three RDS film he appeared in: "So sick, so f*cking warped," was how he characterized his father in a 1991 Movieline interview.
Saturday Night Live 1985
A lot of people forget that Downey was an SNL cast member for the 1985-1986 season. That's fine: As the clip below kind of proves, sketch comedy wasn't Downey's strong suit. It wasn't entirely Downey's fault, though. The entire cast of Lorne Michaels' first year back after a five-year hiatus was pretty dismal, and only Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller and Nora Dunn would survive for the next season. (Almost literally, the season ended with a fake fire on set with a tagline teasing viewers about who would survive the blaze. Infamously, Lorne Michael prevented Lovitz from going on stage -- "saving" him from the fire -- which angered the rest of the cast.)
The Pick-up Artist (1987)
Downey's first leading role and the first of three collaborations with director James Toback. As the title character, the actor trolls the streets of New York asking for women's phone numbers -- not for really anything more than the challenge. (A movie that also, one day, would make me think placing a fake parking ticket on my car would fool cops into not giving me a real one. Reality: It pisses them off.) Molly Ringwald plays the female lead and, although she and Downey were roughly equals at the time of The Pick-Up Artist's release, the careers of both were headed in the opposite direction: Downey's next movie was the fierce (if flawed) Less Than Zero; Ringwald's was For Keeps.
Chaplin (1992)
Downey's earned his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the legendary silent-film actor and director. Of course, he had no chance of winning against Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman, Denzel Washington for Malcolm X and Clint Eastwood for Unforgiven (Downey did win the BAFTA award for Best Actor), but the film marked the crest of the first half of Downey's career. Unfortunately, he was about to take a huge step off a cliff into addiction, numerous jail stints and borderline unemployability. He vented his frustration to Toback in a 1997 Movieline interview: "I thought The Pick-Up Artist would give me a chance to have a real career, and it didn't turn out that way. When I did Chaplin I thought, 'Well, this has got to do it!' But it still didn't happen. It still hasn't happened. It really pisses me off. But I have to say, I haven't been in a film that's been a ... a hit. And I guess that's the game."
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
After a roughly 10-year period marked with minor ups (Wonder Boys, The Singing Detective) and bitter downs (losing his Ally McBeal gig after a 2001 drug arrest), Downey climbed back for good in Shane Black's indie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Produced by Downey's eventual wife Susan (they met on the Gothika set in 2003), the dark crime comedy reinvigorated critical and commercial interest in Downey, opening the door for his higher-profile turns in The Shaggy Dog, Good Night and Good Luck, Zodiac and... well, you know.
Iron Man (2008)
Two films and $1.2 billion in worldwide grosses into the Marvel franchise, Downey is the superstar leading man he envisioned to Toback over a decade ago. Hard to believe that status rests squarely on the shoulders of a billionaire weapons scion named Tony Stark. (Not to mention, to a not-very-lesser degree, a downmarket, Golden Globe-nominated private eye named Sherlock Holmes.)
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Downey earned his second Oscar nomination playing Kirk Lazarus, the Method actor-gone-mad whose full-body transformations earned him a mantel full of industry awards -- providing the meta material for Downey to earn his own nomination as a white actor playing a black military grunt. Were it not for Heath Ledger, he might have even won. Asked about one interviewer about the model for the role, Downey replied, "Sadly, my sorry-ass self." Here's how he did it (clip NSFW):