Robert Downey Jr. is an American actor who has starred in numerous films, television series and video games. He made his acting debut in his father Robert Downey Sr.’s film Pound 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), 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, he 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.
Since 2008, Downey plays the role of Tony Stark / Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He debuted in this role for the first time in the Marvel Studios film Iron Man, and reprised the role in The Incredible Hulk (2008) in a cameo appearance, Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and will reprise his role in the upcoming film Black Widow (2021). 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.
Film
At the Air America premiere, 1990
Promoting the film Iron Man in Mexico City, 2008
At the Paris premiere of Iron Man 3, April 2013
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Pound | Puppy 1 | ||
| 1972 | Greaser’s Palace | Unnamed Quasimodo-like child | Uncredited | |
| 1975 | Moment to Moment | Himself | Uncredited | |
| 1980 | Up the Academy | Boy on Soccer Team | Uncredited | |
| 1983 | Baby It’s You | Stewart | ||
| 1984 | Firstborn | Lee | ||
| 1985 | Tuff Turf | Jimmy Parker | ||
| Girls Just Want to Have Fun | Punk Party Crasher | Uncredited | ||
| Weird Science | Ian | |||
| Deadwait | Short | |||
| 1986 | Back to School | Derek Lutz | ||
| 1987 | The Pick-up Artist | Jack Jericho | ||
| Less Than Zero | Julian Wells | |||
| 1988 | Johnny Be Good | Leo Wiggins | ||
| Rented Lips | Wolf Dangler | |||
| 1969 | Ralph Karr | |||
| That’s Adequate | Albert Einstein | |||
| 1989 | True Believer | Roger Baron | ||
| Chances Are | Alex Finch | |||
| 1990 | Air America | Billy Covington | ||
| 1991 | Too Much Sun | Reed Richmond | ||
| Soapdish | David Seton Barnes | |||
| 1992 | Chaplin | Charlie Chaplin | ||
| 1993 | Heart and Souls | Thomas Reilly | ||
| The Last Party | Himself | Documentary Also writer |
||
| Short Cuts | Bill Bush | |||
| 1994 | Hail Caesar | Jerry | ||
| Natural Born Killers | Wayne Gale | |||
| Only You | Peter Wright | |||
| 1995 | Richard III | Earl Rivers | ||
| Home for the Holidays | Tommy Larson | |||
| Restoration | Robert Merivel | |||
| 1996 | Danger Zone | Jim Scott | ||
| 1997 | One Night Stand | Charlie | ||
| Two Girls and a Guy | Blake Allen | |||
| Hugo Pool | Ahmad Rojikin | |||
| 1998 | The Gingerbread Man | Clyde Pell | ||
| U.S. Marshals | Special Agent John Royce | |||
| 1999 | In Dreams | Vivian Thompson | ||
| Friends & Lovers | Hans | |||
| Bowfinger | Jerry Renfro | |||
| Black and White | Terry Donager | |||
| 2000 | Wonder Boys | Terry Crabtree | ||
| 2002 | Lethargy | Animal therapist | Short film | |
| 2003 | Whatever We Do | Bobby | Short film | |
| The Singing Detective | Dan Dark | |||
| Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin | Himself | Documentary | ||
| Gothika | Pete Graham | |||
| 2004 | Eros | Nick Penrose | Segment: “Equilibrium” | |
| 2005 | Game 6 | Steven Schwimmer | ||
| Kiss Kiss Bang Bang | Harry Lockhart | |||
| The Outsider | Himself | Documentary | ||
| Good Night, and Good Luck | Joseph Wershba | |||
| Hubert Selby Jr | Narrator | Voice Documentary |
||
| 2006 | A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints | Dito Montiel | Also co-producer | |
| The Shaggy Dog | Dr. Kozak | |||
| A Scanner Darkly | James Barris | |||
| Fur | Lionel Sweeney | |||
| 2007 | Zodiac | Paul Avery | ||
| Lucky You | Telephone Jack | Cameo | ||
| Charlie Bartlett | Principal Nathan Gardner | |||
| 2008 | Iron Man | Tony Stark / Iron Man | ||
| The Incredible Hulk | Uncredited cameo | |||
| Tropic Thunder | Kirk Lazarus | |||
| 2009 | The Soloist | Steve Lopez | ||
| Sherlock Holmes | Sherlock Holmes | |||
| 2010 | Iron Man 2 | Tony Stark / Iron Man | ||
| Love & Distrust | Rob | Segment: “Auto Motives” | ||
| Due Date | Peter Highman | |||
| 2011 | Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | Sherlock Holmes | ||
| 2012 | The Avengers | Tony Stark / Iron Man | ||
| 2013 | Iron Man 3 | |||
| 2014 | The Judge | Hank Palmer | Also executive producer | |
| Chef | Marvin | Cameo | ||
| 2015 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Tony Stark / Iron Man | ||
| 2016 | The Nice Guys | Sid Shattuck | Uncredited cameo | |
| 2016 | Captain America: Civil War | Tony Stark / Iron Man | ||
| 2017 | Spider-Man: Homecoming | |||
| 2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | |||
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | |||
| 2020 | Dolittle | Dr. John Dolittle | Also executive producer | |
| 2021 | Black Widow | Tony Stark / Iron Man | Completed | |
| All-Star Weekend | Mexican Stranger | Completed |
Television
Downey Jr. at the D23 Expo, August 2011
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–1986 | Saturday Night Live | Various characters | 16 episodes | |
| 1985 | Mussolini: The Untold Story | Bruno Mussolini | 3 episodes | |
| 1995 | Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree | Mr. Willowby | Television special | |
| 2000–2002 | Ally McBeal | Larry Paul | 21 episodes | |
| 2005 | Family Guy | Patrick Pewterschmidt (voice) | Episode: “The Fat Guy Strangler” | |
| 2019 | The Age of A.I. | Himself (host) | 8 episodes | |
| 2021 | What If…? | Tony Stark / Iron Man (voice) | Guest star; in voice recording progress |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Iron Man | Tony Stark | Iron Man was voiced by Stephen Stanton |
Music video
| Year | Title | Artist | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | “I Want Love” | Elton John |