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‘Lived through 30 years of depravity and despair’
Addressing the audience at the screening of his film Avengers: Infinity War that releases today, Robert Downey Jr., 53, referenced his battle with addiction in an emotional speech, reports people.com. The Iron Man star says that he lived through “30 years of depravity and despair” before his comeback.
“I want to talk about the past, present, and future,” Downey said onstage, alongside his Avengers costars, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Chadwick Boseman. “The past, for me, was 30 years of dependency, depravity, and despair otherwise known as ‘an actor prepares’! The present is this moment of glory for all of us. And the future. That is always uncertain,” he said following a round of cheers.
“But looking at these friends behind me, it seems like things might brighten up after all.”
Long before Iron Man came out in 2008, the Oscarnominated actor made headlines in the late 1990s and early 2000s for being arrested and jailed multiple times over drug-related charges.
In 1996, he was stopped by police after driving naked down Sunset Boulevard and was found in possession of cocaine, heroin and a gun.
Later in 2000, Downey was again arrested and charged with a felony drug possession.
In 2015, he topped Forbes’ highest-paid actors’ list, with earnings that year of over $80 million.
During an appearance on Monday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live with some of his film’s costars, host Jimmy Kimmel joked, “What was it, ten years ago that you did the first Iron Man movie? We didn’t know how that was going to go. That could have been a disaster. It could have ruined your acting career!”
“The only way was up back then!” Downey responded, laughing.