Robert Downey Jr., known for his role in “Oppenheimer,” is set to portray four characters in HBO’s upcoming spy drama, “The Sympathiser.” Reflecting on his journey from being an uninsurable actor to an Oscar winner, Downey delivered a poignant speech while accepting the Best Supporting Actor award.
He candidly shared moments from his battle with drug addiction in the late ’90s and early 2000s, expressing gratitude to his wife for her unwavering support in his recovery journey.
Downey also humorously acknowledged his longtime lawyer, highlighting the attorney’s efforts in securing insurance for him and bailing him out over their four-decade-long partnership.
“I think if you develop a moral psychology, things are a lot easier,” Downey, 58, told People in this week’s cover story.
“And I think it’s hard to explain away certain behaviours when there are ways to heal. So I have a lot of empathy for them, and I also am a little bit sceptical about anyone who doesn’t lean into what they can do to improve the state of their compass. That’s all.”
Standing next to him, Downey’s wife Susan added,
“I feel like anyone’s journey, no matter how fraught or positive, whatever it is, it is your journey. There’s nothing we would do differently.”
Behind the scenes, individuals close to Downey reveal that he maintains a low-key commitment to assisting others.
“His ways are heartwarming,” said fellow ‘Avengers’ star Jeremy Renner, who was in the ICU last January following his horrific snowplow accident.
He noted that Downey checked in on him constantly.
“We ended up having great chats on FaceTime like we were dating or something,” recalled Renner.
The couple, married for 18 years and collaborating at their production company Team Downey, prioritize their home life. They adhere to a rule of not spending more than two weeks apart, ensuring regular family dinners filled with joy and punctuality.
Susan notes Downey’s playful nature, recounting how he often engages their children in word or improv games during meals.
“Here’s the interesting thing,” she says. “I came from an incredibly stable household and Robert’s was, let’s say, less than that. And yet he’s the one who brings the real kind of homey-ness to it, and I just make sure everything’s working and running well.”
Downey fully embraces family life, from equipping their home with pancake art tools to enthusiastically participating in jam sessions with his children Exton (12), Avri (9), and Indio (30).
“He really cares about whatever they care about,” said Susan. “I think that he craves and therefore wants to provide the stability that probably he didn’t necessarily have.”
Downey told the portal, his home life provides him with focus.
“It just gives me, honestly, something to attach my neurosis to that’s positive,” he says. “And I love when I can ask [Susan] if she thinks we should paint the kitchen a different colour or if maybe a new rug in her office, whatever. I’m not saying that I’m like a fledgling interior designer. But there’s two kinds of people and I’m the kind that cares about the drapes.”
The Academy Awards delivered another full-circle moment for Downey as “Oppenheimer” clinched the Best Picture award, with a familiar face stepping up to the microphone.
“It’s crazy that Al Pacino, one of my favorite human beings on earth, presented Best Picture,” Downey told People. “And it’s also crazy that, I think, deservedly he won the first time I was nominated [in 1993 for Chaplin], for Scent of a Woman,” he said.
