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Robert Downey Jr recalls how filmmaker dad set him on path to drug addiction at age SIX

Working on the documentary gave the father-son duo better understanding of each other with Downey Jr saying, 'My dad and I are pretty flawed dudes'
UPDATED DEC 5, 2022
Robert Downey Jr pays tribute to his late father Robert Downey Sr in his new Netflix documentary 'Sr' (CredStephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Robert Downey Jr pays tribute to his late father Robert Downey Sr in his new Netflix documentary 'Sr' (CredStephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

EAST HAMPTON, NEW YORK: Robert Downey Jr's chaotic path from drug addiction to becoming the world's highest-paid actor, and giving the man behind all his struggles the ultimate tribute has been documented in his new Netflix docu, 'Sr.' Many have known the fall and rise of the superstar but what most don't know is the role his drug-addicted filmmaker father played in writing his son's impeccable journey.

Downey Jr's father, Robert Downey Sr, was an actor, writer, and director most well-known for writing and directing the 1969 satirical comedy 'Putney Swope.' Downey Jr was born in Manhattan, New York City, in 1965, the family moved a dozen homes at the cost of their children's education. At age 6, Downey Sr spotted his son sipping a glass of wine during a poker night at the family home in New York. Instead of making sure his sons never repeat the mistake, his father passed him a cannabis joint and told him to puff on that. However, years later he admitted he had made ‘a terrible, stupid mistake’ in giving his six-year-old son drugs.

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Meanwhile, the new documentary 'Sr' revolves around the chaotic yet remarkable journey of the father-son duo. The film sheds light on the deeply troubled but self-assured actor who, in 1999, told a judge that, thanks to his father giving drugs to him, he’d been hooked since the age of eight. He added that his addiction to cocaine and heroin was "like I have a shotgun in my mouth, and I’ve got my finger on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gun metal," revealed Daily Mail.

Referring to his dismal upbringing, Downey Jr says at one point in the clip, "I think we would be remiss not to discuss its effect on me." His father, embarrassingly mumbles back, "Boy, I would sure love to miss that discussion." In July 2021, Downey Sr died aged 85 from Parkinson’s disease. In the documentary Downey Jr admits that movies always brought the pair together, and even while working on the documentary, it gave the father-son duo a better understanding of each other, with Downey Jr saying "my dad and I are pretty flawed dudes."

Robert Jr was only five when he had his first onscreen role in his father's movie, 'Pound' (1970). Downey Jr considers it a good thing he was introduced to the industry at such a young age, saying he "had the advantage of it already feeling natural before I came into that quote-unquote industrialized version of entertainment." After landing his biggest film 'Iron Man' the actor who once 8 cents an hour scrubbing pans in jail, made £355 million from the franchise. Paying a tribute to his late father, Downey Jr said, while he might be known as Tony Stark, Sherlock Holmes or Charlie Chaplin today, he explained that he was known as "just Bob Downey’s kid for a long time."

Recalling his experience in a new film Downey Jr adds, "It’s very odd, too, because we’re doing this film with director Park (Chan-wook) now called 'The Sympathizer,' where I’m doing a lot of different characters. It's not experimental at all. It's very well-fleshed out. But it's kind of reminding me of the Sr. experience," said Downey Jr. "You get dressed up, you try a character, and we're going to film it… so I'm still working for Dad."

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