Robert Downey Jr., one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors, is well-known both for his work as a gifted, accomplished actor and for his battle with addiction. He went in and out of rehab for years at a time, becoming sober, relapsing, and getting arrested. His downward trajectory resulted in him spending time in state jail. He had to lose everything in order to finally confront his addiction and find the path to recovery, including his finances, profession, and family. The Iron Man actor’s battle with addiction is a heroic narrative of beating the odds and breaking years’ worth of bad habits. He is more than just a superhero on the big screen.
Actress Elsie Downey and independent filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. welcomed Robert Downey Jr. into the world in New York City in 1965. At the age of eight, his father, who also struggled with substance usage, gave him his first taste of marijuana at a party, exposing him to narcotics at a young age.
In the 1987 movie Less Than Zero, Downey Jr. gave a standout performance as a wealthy, disturbed young man. In 1992, he surprised everyone by winning an Oscar nod for his portrayal of Charlie Chaplin in Richard Attenborough’s biopic Chaplin. Even as his battle with alcohol and drug abuse started to dominate his life off the set, he continued to appear in movies. While making a movie, he managed to abstain from using for a while, but he quickly fell off the wagon and began using again, going on day-long binges.
Downey Jr. cycled in and out of state-run addiction treatment facilities in California for the following few years. He received a 36-month state prison sentence in 1999, spending 12 months before being granted parole.
After spending time in treatment, Robert Downey Jr. returned to acting in 2002, landing roles in Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, and the blockbuster Zodiac. But he didn’t truly commit to his recovery until he started dating movie producer Susan Levin in 2003, while he was working on the movie Gothika.
After giving up wild evenings out and weekend-long drug binges, Robert Downey Jr. now leads a relatively tranquil life at home with his family in Malibu. The 54-year-old attributes his ability to overcome his addiction and maintain sobriety to his marriage to Susan, his children, Eastern martial arts, yoga, and the 12-Step program.
Source: dreamlife recovery
