caption years_active children birth_place imagesize parents birth_date spouse image article_title birth_name occupation
downey at the 2014 san diego comic con international 1970 -- present 3 manhattan , new york , u.s. 220px robert downey sr. elsie ann ford 4 april 1965 deborah falconer 1992 2004 divorced susan levin 2005 robert . jpg downey jr 2014 comic con -lrb- cropped -rrb- robert downey , jr. .
 robert john downey , jr. actor
robert downey , jr. .

robert john downey , jr. -lrb- born april 4 , 1965 -rrb- is an american actor whose career has included critical and popular success in his youth , followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles , and a resurgence of commercial success in middle age .
making his screen debut at the age of five , appearing in his father robert downey , sr 's film `` pound '' -lrb- 1970 -rrb- , he appeared in roles associated with the brat pack , such as the teen sci-fi comedy `` weird science '' -lrb- 1985 -rrb- and the drama `` less than zero '' -lrb- 1987 -rrb- .
other films he has starred in include the action comedy `` air america '' -lrb- 1990 -rrb- , the comedy `` soapdish '' -lrb- 1991 -rrb- , and the crime film `` natural born killers '' -lrb- 1994 -rrb- .
he starred as charlie chaplin , the title character in the 1992 film `` chaplin '' , which earned him a nomination for the academy award for best actor .
after being released in 2000 from the california substance abuse treatment facility and state prison where he was on drug charges , downey joined the cast of the tv series `` ally mcbeal '' playing calista flockhart 's love interest .
his performance was praised and he received a golden globe award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series , miniseries , or television film .
his character was written out when downey was fired after two drug arrests in late 2000 and early 2001 .
after one last stay in a court-ordered drug treatment program , downey finally achieved sobriety .
his more recent films include the musical comedy crime film `` the singing detective '' -lrb- 2003 -rrb- , the supernatural horror film `` gothika '' -lrb- 2003 -rrb- , the crime comedy `` kiss kiss bang bang '' -lrb- 2005 -rrb- , the animated science fiction thriller `` a scanner darkly '' -lrb- 2006 -rrb- , the mystery thriller `` zodiac '' -lrb- 2007 -rrb- , and the satirical action comedy `` tropic thunder '' -lrb- 2008 -rrb- , for which he was nominated for an academy award for best supporting actor .
beginning in 2008 , downey has portrayed the role of marvel comics superhero tony stark/iron man in the marvel cinematic universe , appearing in several films as either the lead role , member of an ensemble cast , or in a cameo .
he played the title character in guy ritchie 's `` sherlock holmes '' -lrb- 2009 -rrb- and -lrb- 2011 -rrb- .
downey has starred in several movies that have each grossed over $ 500 million at the box office worldwide .
three of those films , `` the avengers '' , '' '' and `` iron man 3 '' , each earned over $ 1 billion .
for three consecutive years from 2012-2015 , downey has topped the `` forbes '' list of hollywood 's highest-paid actors , making an estimated $ 80 million in earnings between june 2014 and june 2015 .
