Robert Downey Jr.: High Altitude

He's a hard worker,

drives you hard and wants to get

drives you hard and wants to get

the absolute max out of every moment.

Never settles, but is incredibly inventive

and full of fantastic stories.

And he's a sweetheart.

I'm so full of respect and admiration for him.

When we think of a prolific

yet tumultuous career in Hollywood,

a name stands out amongst the crowd.

In a roller coaster of events.

From stardom, rock bottom, and returning

as one of the most well known actors in the industry,

thanks to his incredible portrayal of his roles

and charismatic demeanor,

from his hardships to his incredible retribution.

This is Robert Downey Jr.

Come on Iron Man!

Robert! Robert! Robert!

Everybody on the sidewalk, now.

Everybody on the sidewalk.

Now, first of all Robert,

back as Sherlock, back as Ironman.

What is it about those two characters,

the two franchises that kind of just draws you back in?

Robert was born on the 4th of April, 1965

in Greenwich Village, New York.

His mother, Elsie Downey was an actress,

and his father, Robert Downey Sr.

Was an underground, yet fearless, visionary director

who would go to set the standards

for counter cultural comedy in the 1960s and seventies.

Did you always feel

like you could let the actors go,

or is that something you came around to?

Oh, no, no, no. You mean all my whole life?

- Yeah. - Well, a lot of times,

I've worked with non-actors.

- Right. - And that's interesting too,

because you get what you get, and once in a while,

if you try and force 'em into what conventional acting is,

they don't know what to do, so, that's kind of frustrating.

With these guys, you can kind of arrive and realize an idea

and then ask for another one

and they're more than ready

and then they'll add another one.

And it's just, especially with some of these guys,

I mean, it was just, it was hard to pick,

what to pick in the editing.

It was hard.

Though his original surname was Elias,

the Downey name came to light

once his father enlisted in the army.

Robert grew up with his sister Allison,

and being surrounded by the arts,

began to pick up an interest in acting and music

from a young age.

Robert's close relationship with his father,

Robert Downey Sr.

Landed the young Robert a role

in his father's film "Pound" in 1970.

This would be Robert's first appearance on screen,

playing the role of a sick dog.

Why don't we go upstairs, there's no more furniture.

The roof's gone and so's my hair.

That tornado scared me so much, it made my hair disappear.

Have any hair on your balls?

Well, let's, let's...

Were you improvising back then or...

because that line seemed a little unorthodox

for a five year old.

It didn't...

I still, God bless my dad.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Is it easier or more difficult

to work for your dad?

Easier.

Why?

Because he's my dad. You know, he knows me so well.

And also I think he genuinely is concerned

with nothing but my well being as an artist with...

in this art form.

So, he has no other...

He has no agenda other than helping me explore myself.

And in this case, the darker,

more twisted aspects of my psyche.

Does he push you

harder than other directors,

or do you want to work hard?

He pushes me easier.

You know, it's like he knows

I'm gonna do, give a thousand percent

and he just kind of sets a stage for me.

Yeah, he expects a lot. You know, he expects a lot.

Unfortunately, the young Robert's childhood

was not one of stability.

Drugs surrounded the young boy and his sister

throughout their household.

And by the age of just seven years old, Robert Downey Sr.

Would offer his son a joint of marijuana

and young Robert reciprocated.

Unfortunately, such experience

would act as a gateway for Robert.

And this would go on to be the greatest regret

his father ever possessed,

knowing almost immediately that it was a terrible decision.

At the age of 13, Robert's parents would get divorced.

His sister Allison would move

to an alternative boarding school in Vermont.

Whilst Downey Jr. Would move from New York

to Los Angeles, California with his father.

The idea of school didn't sit well for the young Robert.

With the inspirations from his family still lingering,

in 1982, he dropped out of Santa Monica High

to pursue his dream of a full-time acting career.

Now 18, Robert returned to his roots in New York,

rather than break into Hollywood.

On one level, I was just, I'm happy.

I'm happy to be a working actor.

You know, the odds for that going on are pretty slim.

And on the other hand,

I felt like I never really paid that much attention.

And I think part of of that was from wanting to be cavalier

or non-committal.

So, if it all blew up in my face, I could say,

"well, that's not what I really wanted to do anyway."

You know, because at certain point,

this sentence came in my head of, "you can't do that."

You know?

And it seemed to really make sense.

It didn't seem like it was really, you know,

the devil's advocate part of me doing it.

Like it was just the logical part doing it.

So, you know, I mean...

You felt like to a point

where you just kind of felt

like running the other way, you mean?

Sure, sure.

I mean, you put on a tramp outfit, you know,

and like, and go try to, you know,

make it where you just go like, you know,

there aren't, it's not often that it's possible.

He chose to work on small productions

such as "Firstborn" in 1984.

Here Robert would get his first glimpse at romance.

He met Sarah Jessica Parker on set,

and the two were immediately smitten with one another.

They would soon form a loving relationship.

And the couple moved into a house

within only weeks after meeting.

Over time his former co-star and lover, Sarah,

would become more and more concerned of Robert's behavior,

as it became apparent a serious drug habit was forming.

Eventually she felt supporting him

was more akin to being a mother than a girlfriend.

In 1985, Robert joined the cast for Saturday Night Live,

following the return of host Lorne Michaels.

Alongside Robert,

the new cast would go on to include Dennis Miller,

John Lovett, and Anthony Michael Hall,

all of whom were selected to boost the show's ratings.

In the same year, Robert had acting breakthroughs

while working on "Tuff Turf" and "Weird Science".

Though not a core member,

he would go on to be associated with the Brat Pack.

A group of young actors predominantly featured

in the John Hughes American teen films.

Second thing that makes me feel so good that you,

for lack of a better term, you've escaped the clutches

of that so-called Brat Pack thing,

where you're on your own as an actor.

Does that bother you? When you're...

When you're associated with those people and they say,

"oh, Downey, yeah, he's one of those guys who's whatever."

Well, it's funny, 'cause I've never been in the room

with any of them, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

But yeah, I guess, I don't know.

You know, I'm just, you know, whatever.

Well, you know what I mean?

What I'm saying is that a lot of people think

that you're just associated

with a just a group of young guys...

- Right, sure. - Who came along

at a certain time and doing that certain kind of movie.