Why I Adore: Robert Downey Jr.
A Filmmaker's Guide to Appreciation (Pt. 8)
In this chapter of ‘the filmmaker’s guide’ we’re going to look at people that I absolutely adore and why I adore them. They can be anyone who is famous for being in film such as: actors and actresses, directors and producers, composers etc. We’re going to be looking at my childhood heroes, people I have discovered recently and people that I have yet to look entirely into. We’ll take a bit of a look at how I discovered them, what I think of them and why I think this way about them. Hopefully, we can gain a common ground, you can discover some new people or, via the email address in my bio, you can email me with any new people I don’t know about that you think I would like based on what you’ve seen. These are supposed to be positive articles and made to brighten your day and mine. So, let’s take a wild ride into my childhood, my teen years and what I absolutely adore about the film industry because it is alive and kicking (and if it isn’t, hell I might be out of a job…). Let’s go!
Robert Downey Jr.
I was very young when I first discovered Robert Downey Jr. and at that time, he was a questionable human being with a massive drug problem. He was known as the unemployable guy in Hollywood and I had seen the film "Less than Zero" only by accident in about 2004 or so and "Air America" on television. After this, Robert Downey Jr. kind of disappeared from my radar because he didn't really make films my parents would let me see. They were all films that were at least 15's and being a child, obviously, I could not see them. But when Robert Downey Jr. released "Iron Man" in 2008 and well, I was old enough to see that and I couldn't believe it. He was no longer the same man and everyone was like 'is that really Robert Downey Jr?' I remember watching it when it came out and I was very impressed. I watched it in the same year I was also mourning our loss of Heath Ledger who was also an actor I loved (and they have the same birthday, you know).
So I'm going to say that I really discovered Robert Downey Jr. through "Iron Man" (2008) and that's because we really all discovered who he was at that moment. He was an entirely new man and coming back to his career, scaring the crap out of everyone who thought they had a damn chance.
Robert Downey Jr. has always been a source of inspiration for me because his journey really taught me that it is not impossible to turn your life around and it is never too late to rethink things. At the moment, I'm rethinking a bit of a drinking problem and I'm trying to turn my own life around and being almost twenty-five, I really need to find myself now. But Robert Downey Jr. has shown me that it is not too late, it is not too much and it is not impossible.
My favourite movie with Robert Downey Jr starring in it is also in my top twenty favourite films of all time and that is "Chaplin" (1992) directed by Richard Attenborough. It is a brilliant film that shows us the full extent of Robert Downey Jr's incredible talents and has an amazing storyline about one of my all-time heroes: Sir Charlie Chaplin.
As we know, Robert Downey Jr. has retired from playing Iron Man and honestly, from 2008 to Endgame etc. it has been a good run. He really proved to us through "The Singing Detective" and "Zodiac" that he could still to other films as well. If you've seen "The Judge" then it proves that he still can even though he is Iron Man in all of our hearts. Since he was one of the biggest stars during my teen years, I cannot ignore all of the things he has taught us, all of the things he has shown us and the way in which he has brought himself back from practically the end of the world. I cannot imagine anyone else portraying the roles he portrayed in his time, even back in the 1990s.
Fun fact: I have actually watched every single Robert Downey Jr. movie ever. I made a point of doing so when I was about fifteen and sixteen years' old because I wanted to know in reality how we got here.
Join me next time for "Why I Adore: Heath Ledger"
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