Robert+Downey+Jr.-Period+6

Sin : Was a drug addict

Background: Robert John Downey Jr. was born in Greenwich Village, New York City. His first part in a movie was in his father's //Pound// (1970), in which 5-year-old Downey played a puppy. He got into the industry by joining the cast of SNL for a year. A few of his works include Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes, and Tropic Thunder.

Backlash: He was arrested in 1996 for possession of heroin, cocaine, and a handgun while speeding down sunset boulevard. He was not jailed but a month later he was put on parol and trespassed into his neighbors home while under the influence and fell asleep in one their beds. He was sentenced to three years probation and was required to do mandatory drug tests. he missed these tests often and each missed tested landed him 4 months in prison. He was later arrested in 1999 for missing another drug test and he served a 3 year prison term. All of his major film positions and other contracts were dropped at that point. He was released in under a year from prison. A week after his release he landed a position on a TV show called "Ally McBeal". before he completed his first season on "Ally McBeal" he was arrested for being under the influence and in possession of cocaine and valium. He was not convicted. In April 2001 he was suspected of being under the influence when police found him wandering barefoot near Los Angeles. He was released a few hours later even though tests showed cocaine was in his system. After this arrest he was dismissed from his TV show "Ally McBeal" and also cost him a role in "American Sweathearts". Mel Gibson dismissed him from his role in Hamlet. In July 2001 he was sent to a rehabilitation center and put on three years probation. That was his final arrest.

Public Perception: The Public was blown away in the beginning when all of this was happening but Time heals all wounds. The public eventually forgot about this drug era and went back to loving him as an actor and watching all of his movies again.

Repercussions: During this time for Downey he lost many roles in big movies he took a big hit in 2001 when he took off of acting all together. He was unable to obtain any lead roles in his bounce back in 2002 but his first big role wasn't until 2008 in iron man and continued to lead many other roles. (tropic thunder, Due date, Iron man 2, Sherlock Holmes...)

Aftermath (reintegration back into society?) Overall he lost a lot of fans and he lost a lot money but over time his "sin" was forgiven and people see him now as an amazing actor. He had lost his job for basically seven years but after all this was over he gained peoples respect because of how courageous he was in turning his life around for the better.

Sources: Magazine or Newspaper; Website and/or blog; Youtube video/interview; Personal interviews (minimum 2: expert and friend/family)

Notes/Recent findings (add to this AT Least every time your group meets)

Letter assigned for conclusion

MLA Sources

Questions for Ms. Lewis