He was born April 4, 1965 in Manhattan (new York), the youngest of two children. [6] his father — Robert Downey senior-Director, actor and producer, and his mother-Elsie (nee Ford) — also an actress. Downey's father is of Irish and Jewish descent and his mother is of German and Scottish descent. [6] [7] his father was born with the name Robert Elias, but changed his surname to Downey (like his stepfather James Downey) when he was a minor and wanted to join the army. [7][8]

Downey had small roles in his father's projects as a child. He made his film debut at the age of five and played a sick puppy in the film "Corral" (1970), then at the age of seven starred in The "griser's Palace" (1972)[7]. At the age of 10, he lived in England and studied classical ballet as part of a wider educational program. He grew up in Greenwich village and studied at the Stagedoor Manor performing arts training center in upstate new York when he was a teenager . When his parents divorced in 1978, Downey moved to California with his father, but in 1982 he left Santa Monica high school and moved to new York to pursue an acting career. [10]

Career

At the age of 20 in 1985, Downey Jr. joined the team producing the most popular American TV show "Saturday night live"for one season[10]. After experience on television, he finally decided to link the fate of the cinema and moved to Hollywood. In 1987, Robert Downey received the lead role in James Tobeck's Comedy "removal specialist". After several works in teenage comedies, Downey claimed the role of a desperate teenage drug addict in the film "Less than zero" (1987), which became successful[11]. In 1992, when Richard Attenborough " Chaplin "was released, in which the actor played the legendary comedian[12], the actor's play Downey Jr. earned high marks, and the actor was awarded the BAFTA award for best actor and was nominated for the Golden globe and Oscar for Best actor (both awards that year went to al Pacino for his role in the film" the Smell of women"). Critics and the public called Robert Downey Jr. one of the most promising actors of the younger generation.