Entering his early teen, Robert was forced to face the divorce ...
of his parents in 1978, followed by the departure of his father also sister Allyson to California as he chose to remain with his mother in New York. However, the teen later decided to rejoin them four years later and entered the state's Santa Monica High School where he frequently was selected to perform in its stage productions. By this time, his desire to pursue an acting career had become really hard to resist so that he recklessly left his study earlier upon Downey Sr.'s approval before headed back to New York to start working his path in the entertainment world. After a handful of small parts in productions of either local or off-Broadway theaters, including those of "American Passion" and "Alms for the Middle Class", a good chance struck him when an agent who spotted his potentiality helped him to try out for film auditions in Los Angeles.
Managed to obtain his first credited role in Rosanna Arquette's vehicle of "Baby It's You" (1983), Robert moved forward to grab a bigger turn in "Firstborn" (1984) in which he shared the screen with Sarah Jessica Parker whom he dated shortly thereafter. Also appeared in "Weird Science", "Tuff Turf", plus "Mussolini.
The Untold Story" throughout 1985, this brown-eyed guy then made his way to hit higher when he successfully impressed the casting panel of "Saturday Night Live" (1975) and in consequence became the show's member for one season. Lucky for him, one of his performances there attracted director James Toback who subsequently gave him the second billing to play the male lead in his 1986 picture, "The Pick-Up Artist", alongside Molly Ringwald and Dennis Hopper. It was such a relief for the struggling actor as the flick not only enabled him to gain audience's notice but also served as a good stepping-stone to secure a challenging role of Julian Wells in "Less Than Zero" (1987).
Wonderfully delivered a compelling dramatic enactment in that feature of Marek Kanievska, Robert in turn received huge praise from critics which unmistakably brought him to more public attention and exposure, leading him to land major roles in "Rented Lips" (1988), "True Believer" (1989), "Air America" (1990), also "Soapdish" (1991). By this time, his relationship with Sarah did not run well enough for them to keep staying on each other's side so that he finally ended the romance in August 1991 to afterwards grow a new love ...
in model-turned-actress Deborah Falconer thus married her joyously by 1992, the same year his next film, "Chaplin", saw its release. It was through this particular picture that he eventually came to the highlight of his career when it directed him to get a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role category at Academy Awards and another of Golden Globe Awards in Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama along with the Best Actor title at BAFTA Awards in 1993.
Completed his accomplishment with the arrival of his son, Indio, on September 7, 1993, Robert firmly maintained his status in Hollywood during half of the '90s, starring in a series of high-profile movies, like "Short Cuts" (1993), "Natural Born Killers" (1994), "Richard III" (1995), and "Restoration" (1995). Sadly, the glory he encountered on screen was tainted by his awful behavior in real life, especially that of his dependence on drugs, as he got arrested for possessing Mexican black tar heroin, crack, cocaine also an unloaded .357 Magnum revolver while driving in intoxicated condition in June 1996. Sentenced to three years probation, he instead ended up in jail for six months after a Malibu municipal judge declared him guilty of violating parole on December 8, 1997 and later even was convicted to three years imprisonment in July 1999 for the same deed. However, he was released by summer 2000 when a California state appellate court discovered a sentencing error made by his trial judge.
Apart from his acting career, Robert has also developed another profession as a music artist through the launching of his debut album, "The Futurist", under Sony Classical on November 23, 2004. In addition, this charming actor of Jewish, Irish, German and Scottish descent also had made a duet with Sting on The Police's "Every Breath You Take" and with Vonda Shepard on "Chances Are" for "Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life" soundtrack (2001).