American actor Robert Downey Jr. made his acting debut in 1970's Pound, directed by his father Robert Downey Sr., at the age of five. In the 1980s, Downey was considered a member of the Brat Pack after appearing in the films Weird Science with Anthony Michael Hall (1985), Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield (1986), Less than Zero with Andrew McCarthy (1987), and Johnny Be Good again with Hall (1988). Downey also starred in the films True Believer (1989) and Chances Are (1989), and was a regular cast member on the late-night variety show Saturday Night Live in 1985.
In the 1990s, Downey was featured in the films Air America with Mel Gibson (1990), Soapdish with Sally Field (1991), Chaplin as Charlie Chaplin (1992), Heart and Souls with Alfre Woodard and Kyra Sedgwick (1993), Short Cuts with Julianne Moore (1993), Only You with Marisa Tomei (1994), Richard III with Ian McKellen (1995), and U.S. Marshals with Tommy Lee Jones (1998). His role in Chaplin earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and a BAFTA Award win for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Downey had a regular role in the television series Ally McBeal in 2000, which won him a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. He was then cast in the 2003 films The Singing Detective alongside Robin Wright and Gothika with Halle Berry. In 2005, he starred in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with Val Kilmer; in Good Night, and Good Luck with David Strathairn and George Clooney; and voiced the character of Patrick Pewterschmidt in the animated series Family Guy. The following year, he appeared in the animated science fiction film A Scanner Darkly and as Paul Avery in the 2007 film Zodiac.
Downey was cast as the role of Tony Stark / Iron Man in the 2008 Marvel Studios film Iron Man. He reprised the role in Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). He also starred in the films Tropic Thunder (2008) and The Soloist (2009), and played the title character in Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011). In 2020, he starred as the title character in Dolittle. For his role in Tropic Thunder, he was nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor. He also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his role in Sherlock Holmes. For his role as Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer (2023), Downey received a Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Film
Year Title Role Notes 1970 Pound Puppy 1972 Greaser's Palace Small Boy in Covered Wagon Uncredited 1975 Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight Himself 1980 Up the Academy Boy on Soccer Team 1983 Baby It's You Stewart 1984 Firstborn Lee 1985 Tuff Turf Girls Just Want to Have Fun Punk Party Crasher Uncredited Weird Science Ian Deadwait Short film 1986 Back to School 1987 Less than Zero 1988 Johnny Be Good Rented Lips 1969 That's Adequate 1989 True Believer Chances Are 1990 Air America 1991 Too Much Sun Soapdish 1992 Chaplin 1993 Heart and Souls Himself Documentary; also writer Short Cuts 1994 Hail Caesar Jerry Natural Born Killers Only You 1995 Home for the Holidays Richard III Restoration 1996 Danger Zone 1997 One Night Stand Charlie Two Girls and a Guy Hugo Pool 1998 U.S. Marshals 1999 In Dreams Friends & Lovers Hans Bowfinger Black and White 2000 Wonder Boys 2002 Lethargy Animal therapist Short film 2003 Whatever We Do Bobby Short film Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin Himself Documentary Gothika 2004 Eros Segment: "Equilibrium" 2005 Game 6 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang The Outsider Himself Documentary Good Night, and Good Luck Hubert Selby Jr.: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow Narrator Documentary 2006 Also co-producer Fur 2007 Zodiac Lucky You Telephone Jack Cameo Charlie Bartlett 2008 Iron Man Uncredited cameo Tropic Thunder 2009 Sherlock Holmes 2010 Iron Man 2 Love & Distrust Rob Segment: "Auto Motives" Due Date 2011 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows 2012 The Avengers 2013 Iron Man 3 2014 Also executive producer Chef Marvin Cameo 2015 Avengers: Age of Ultron 2016 Captain America: Civil War 2017 Spider-Man: Homecoming 2018 Avengers: Infinity War 2019 Avengers: Endgame 2020 Dolittle Also executive producer 2022 "Sr." Himself Documentary; also producer 2023 Oppenheimer 2025 The Fantastic Four: First Steps Uncredited cameo Play Dirty Executive producer 2026Avengers: Endgame EncoreTony Stark / Iron Man, Extended version of Avengers: Endgame, uncredited as Doom Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom Post-production Mexican Stranger Completed; Cameo Filming; Producer
Television
Year Title Role Notes 1985–1986, 1996 Saturday Night Live Various characters (1985–1986); Himself / host (1996) 17 episodes 1985 Mussolini: The Untold Story 3 episodes 1995 Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree Television special 2000–2002 Ally McBeal 21 episodes 2005 Family Guy Episode: "The Fat Guy Strangler" 2008 American Idol Himself Episode: "American Idol Season 7 Finale" 2019 Constance Executive producer The Age of A.I. Himself (host) 8 episodes; also co-executive producer 2020 The Ellen DeGeneres Show Himself (guest host) Episode: "Season 17, Episode 82" 2020–2023 Perry Mason Executive producer 2021–2024 Sweet Tooth Executive producer 2022 The Bond Executive producer The Sunshine Place Executive producer 2023 Downey's Dream Cars Himself (host) 6 episodes; also executive producer 2024 The Sympathizer Claude, Niko Damianos, Professor Robert Hammer, Ned Godwin, The Priest 7 episodes; also executive producer
Theater
Year Title Role Playwright Venue 1983 American Passion Jackson Fred Burch Joyce Theatre, Off-Broadway 2017 Our Town The Stage Manager Thornton Wilder Fox Theatre Campbell, Christopher Inside the Avengers Cast’s One-Night-Only Performance of Our Town VanityFair, November 7, 2017 2024 McNeal Jacob McNeal Ayad Akhtar Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Broadway
Video game
Year Title Voice role Notes 2008 Iron Man Tony Stark Iron Man was voiced by Stephen Stanton
Music
Year Title Artist 2000 "River" Himself 2001 "I Want Love" Elton John 2004 "The Futurist" Himself
References
External links
Robert Downey Jr. at the Rotten Tomatoes