‘Iron Man’ and ‘Tropic Thunder’ launched the once-troubled actor back in the spotlight.
Heres the cover story from the Nov. 21, 2008 issue.
Shriveled, rooty-looking things in Ziploc bags.
Credit: Rankin for EW
Jars filled with herbal pills as big as bullets.
Brain formula, he mumbles as he gulps them down.
They must be working.
Hes become a movie star.
Why am I having this year?
he ponders, chasing down the formula with a swig of mineral water.
Time is not entirely linear.
Its all so associative.
But I do know that I dont want to waste any more time.
Thats why Im putting my nose to the grindstone.
Thats why Im cranking them out.
Lets just say the 90s werent Robert Downey Jr.s decade.
He drove naked down Sunset Boulevard, throwing imaginary rats out his car window.
Downey says, pausing at the architectural oddity during a tour of his digs.
I could put a couple of folding cots in here and Id be all set.
Thats all Id need.
I could live in the kitchen.
Hes lived in worse.
Its not about placating the bad dog its about feeding the good dog, he says of the struggle.
Why did people go seeIron Man?
asks DowneysSoloistcostar Jamie Foxx.
They went to seeIron Manbecause Robert Downey Jr. was in it.
Thats why I went.
I saw it at a screening in Beverly Hills.
People in this town are really rooting for this guy.
Not just because they like him, but because hes great as an actor.
It can be a bumpy, if thrilling, ride.
It was going to be my coming-out party, my emergence into 21st-century cinema, Downey says, laughing.
When it tanked, I was heartbroken.
Downey wantedIron Manso badly he spent three weeks compulsively rehearsing every conceivable line reading for his audition.
It took a lot of courage, Stiller says of Downeys dedication to the role.
I mean, think about it.
He had to come to the set every day in full black makeup and play this over-the-top character.
Most of the crew hadnt read the script.
Nobody knew what was going on.
And here comes this white guy in blackface doing theJeffersonstheme song.
Downey, though, sawTropic Thunderas a blissful getaway.
Ben Stiller saved me from the ghastly fate of a crash after shootingIron Man, he says.
The waiting around, the expectations, the not knowing how it was going to come out.
There were other distractions as well.
All of a sudden I start feeling all my old theater heartstrings being pulled.
Before Joe left the island, I knew Id be doingThe Soloist.
Downey started work on the film in early 2008, after he returned from makingTropic Thunderin Hawaii.
As it turned out, Downey didnt have to worry aboutIron Manat all.
Its $98.6 million May 2 opening weekend made it the biggest superhero franchise launch sinceSpider-Man.
Downey grins when he remembers the night his numbers came in.
And every few minutes the estimates go up.
The estimate is now 77!
The estimate is now 87!
The estimate is now 100!
And Im going crazy because Ive had 25 Cokes and three cappuccinos.
Im like, Come on, give me another lucky seven!
The euphoria didnt end there.
Its a nippy Sunday morning at an old shipyard-turned-museum about an hour outside London.
No, this Sherlock has kung fu moves.
In the books, theres a physical side to the character.
So were just extrapolating from the original material.
Guy wanted to do more of an origin story, which would have made me age-inappropriate, says Downey.
ButIron Mans box office demonstrated with inescapable Holmesian logic that a middle-aged movie star could indeed fill theater seats.
Well, this middle-aged one anyway.
At the rate hes racking them up, Downey could probably get away with a transsexual-horse-whisperer trilogy.
Just now, though, hes got his hands full with Mr. Holmes.
We still havent figured out what sort of hat he should wear, he says.
Guy Ritchie was hell-bent on me wearing a bowler, but it was more Chaplin than Sherlock Holmes.
Downey is still teasing out the character, feeling for his shape, and perfecting the accent.
Even here, on the set ofSherlock Holmes, he manages a constant dosage.
Oh, they work, Downey insists, popping another supplement.
Im alive, arent I?
What more proof could you want?
