Robert John Downey Jr. is one of the world’s highest paid actors. Behind his warm smile, lies an unexpected past. Riding the roller coaster of life is a hard thing to do, but how could this man survive? Unlike other actors, his fame is not the only thing that makes him admirable. He is praiseworthy due to his excellent acting performances, his generosity towards others, and his ability to overcome adversity.
His fantastic acting skills have pushed him to become one of the highest paid and most respected actors.
People know him for his roles as Charlie Chaplin and Sherlock Holmes, but he is best known for his role as Anthony Edward Stark, the genius billionaire in the Iron Man series. While some actors stay out of characters outside the shooting area, Robert did not. People say he lives every character he plays on set. Most actors have difficulties such as living the characters while doing their jobs, but Robert can do it smoothly.
We might know him for being a philanthropist as Tony Stark in the Iron Man film series. It’s not a surprise that in real life he also does philanthropic work because he embodies his characters fully.
We may hear that some people have become famous for being philanthropists, but this is not the case with Robert Downey Jr. Most people don’t know him for being such a generous individual. He doesn’t get publicity for being a philanthropist despite being a famous actor. He has donated large sums of money to multiple charities over the years.
Contributing to charities is not all about money. Once, he went as Iron Man to give support to cancer sufferers at a children’s hospital. We see him as a hero in Iron Man films, but now he has become a real-life hero for some cancer sufferers. He has shown us that we don’t need to be known for doing good actions when we have the responsibility to do them. His act of virtues has made him be a role model. But being a role model doesn’t mean he isn’t a flawed person. Sometimes, the past of a role model is not as what most people expected it to be.
Zig Ziglar once said, ‘Sometimes adversity is what you need to face in order to become successful.’ The quote sounds tailor-made for Robert Downey Jr. Robert didn’t have a decent past. His father, Robert Downey Sr. showed his fatherly love by introducing drugs such as marijuana to him when he was only 6 years old. Robert began his addiction to drugs by the age of 8 and it got worse as he grew older. He had a gloomy period between 1996 to 2001 where his drug addiction was out of control. He was being in and out of jail several times between those years. This incident also affected his love life with Sarah Jessica Parker which came to an end along with his TV career. In 2002, Robert decided to get clean after he tasted a disgusting burger he ordered from Burger King. A year later, Robert met Susan Levin, who is his wife, on the set of Ghotika. Mel Gibson also supported him to his return to the Hollywood film industry. With the help of Mel Gibson, he had a proper comeback and began to get more offers in the industry. His role in the Iron Man series brought him to his brightest time of life and gave him a chance to rebuild his life.
I consider Robert John Downey Jr. a role model for his outstanding performances in the film industry, his act of philanthropy, and his amazing life story. His seriousness in doing his job is one factor that people emulate. Robert’s involvement in helping and inspiring cancer sufferers is a positive way to use his fame platform and sets a good example to his fans. Considering his past, one could say that he is not a perfect man, but he has become a well-known actor who has inspired a lot of people to do their best in life, no matter how hard life becomes. Robert’s life is just like Umar bin Al Khattab said, ‘Sometimes the people with the worst past, create the best future.’ And it means having a bad past will not make you have a bad future too.
Robert John Downey Jr. Is One of the World's Highest Paid Actors. (2021, Feb 10). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/robert-john-downey-jr-is-one-of-the-worlds-highest-paid-actors/