Acclaimed actor Robert Downey Jr. got himself into quite a bit of trouble and suffered the consequences when he was locked up.
These days, everyone knows that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has reigned supreme at the box office for many years. However, when 2008’s Iron Man was released, the movie was a huge gamble that thankfully paid off. Of course, there are many reasons why Iron Man succeeded but the film’s star Robert Downey Jr. is one of the biggest. After all, many fans think Downey Jr. is just like Tony Stark without the super suit.
According to all sources, Robert Donwey Jr. has been completely sober since 2003 and he shows no outward signs that he is in danger of a relapse. Given the fact that overcoming addiction is a daily battle, Downey Jr.’s sobriety is a truly incredible achievement. After all, at the height of his addiction, Downey Jr. was in a really bad place and wound up behind bars because of it.
In the years since Robert Downey Jr. was released from prison, he has become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. With that in mind, it makes sense that Downey Jr. has mostly sought to put the darkest time in his life behind him. Despite that, Downey Jr. has been willing to discuss his time in prison in the past.
In the year 2000, Robert Downey Jr. spoke to Vanity Fair about what he went through as he tried to accept the truth that he was going to spend a lot of time behind bars. “A symptom that characterizes the first phase is shock. Under certain conditions, shock may even precede the prisoner’s formal admission into the camp. The main symptom of the second phase is apathy, a necessary mechanism of self-defense.” During the same interview, Downey Jr. explained that he had to quickly learn the “rules”. “You know, it’s all about sinks and toilet rims. Because that’s what it comes down to. I was new to the cell, so it wasn’t really my sink. I was just a sink guest.”
Of course, there are far too many examples of people whose lives have been decimated by the scourge of addiction. On the bright side, however, Robert Downey Jr. has certainly proven that addicts can turn their lives around in a massive way. Once Downey Jr. got clean, however, his family continued to be affected by the damage that illegal substances can do. The reason for that is that in 2014, Downey Jr.’s son Indio was arrested for illegal substance possession.
Instead of being devastated by his son Indio Downey’s arrest, Robert Downey Jr. put out a statement claiming to be “grateful”. “We’re grateful to the Sheriff’s Department for their intervention and believe Indio can be another recovery success story instead of a cautionary tale.” After posting bail for his son, Downey Jr. checked Indio into rehab and he hasn’t gotten into any publicly known legal problems since then.