In his 26 years in showbiz , he has shot more than 60 films . He has been nominated twice for an Oscar : the first in 1993 for his role in Chaplin and the second in 2009 for Tropic Thunder . He has also participated in Less Than Zero (1987 ) , Natural Born Killers (1994 ) , Wonder Boys (2000 ) , Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane (2006 ) , Zodiac (2007 ) Iron Man (2008 ) , Sherlock Holmes (2010), Iron Man 2 (2010), Due Date (2010), Sherlock Holmes : A Game of Shadows (2011 ) , the Avengers (2012) Iron Man 3 (2013 ) , among others. He is currently known for giving life to Tony Stark , creator of the Iron Man suit and Sherlock Holmes in his most recent film adaptation.
Moreover also took his first steps into the world of music , recording an album in 2004 titled The Futurist , which included written and composed several songs for him .
Downey was born in Manhattan , New York; I was the youngest of two sons . His father, Robert Downey , Sr., is an actor, writer, producer, cinematographer and film director ; and his mother, Elsie , is also an actress and appeared in films made by Downey Sr. His father is half Jewish and half Catholic , born of Russian and Irish descent , and her mother is of Scottish and German descent . His father was born under the name of " Robert Elias " but changed his last name to " Downey " (after the death of his stepfather James Downey ) when he was a minor and wanted to enlist in the army. He and his older sister, Allyson , grew up in Greenwich Village.
As a child, Downey was " surrounded by drugs " . His father, a drug addict , allowed Downey to use marijuana at age six ; years after his father said he regretted . Downey said the drugs consumed created an emotional bond between him and his father: " When my father and I took drugs together , it was like him trying to express his love for me in the only way he knew how." Eventually , Downey began spending every night abusing alcohol and "making a couple thousand calls in pursuit of drugs" .
Robert Downey Jr. is the son of independent filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. and actress and singer Elsie Downey Ford . When his parents separated in 1976 , he and his sister 18 months older, Allison, went to live in Santa Monica (California ) , with his father. He spent his childhood moving between New York , Los Angeles and England. In addition , Downey left high school to become an actor.
On his father is of Irish , Russian and Jewish descent, and mother's side is Jewish and Scottish descent .
In the field sentimental , the actor had a long seven-year relationship with Sarah Jessica Parker whom he met in 1984 , but the relationship ended because of drug problems of Downey. Later he married twice. His first marriage lasted twelve years (1992-2004) and was with Deborah Falconer, with whom he had his son Indio . During the filming of Gothika in 2003 , met the woman who has become his second wife in 2005 , executive producer Susan Levin. She is executive vice president of production for Joel Silver, Silver Pictures , and development director Dark Castle Entertainment , a division of Silver Pictures. The couple welcomed their first child , Exton Elias Downey, on February 7, 2012 .
Was also related to actress Marisa Tomei , who was his co-star in two films : Chaplin (1992) and Only You (1994 ) .