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The first film
Downey made his film debut playing a puppy in his father's film, Pound (1970), in which actors played dogs. -
First Change
He got his first change in Hollywood: Baby It's You. This was preceded by Weird Science, First Born and Back to School. -
Drugs
Downey developed a full-fledged addiction as he headed into his 20s. -
Hollywood
By this time, the 27-year-old Downey had come to be seen as one of the most gifted actors of his generation, but he had also earned a reputation as a troubled and controversial figure in Hollywood. -
Established a reputation
Downey had established a reputation as a critically acclaimed A-List actor. He earned praise for his comic turn as a shifty soap opera producer in Soapdish -
Charles Chaplin
He was selected to play the protagonist of Chaplin, directed by Richard Attenborough.
The role garnered Downey an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards 65th ceremony (The Oscar) -
Arrested
From 1996 through 1999, Downey was arrested numerous times on charges related to drugs including cocaine, heroin, and marijuana and went through drug treatment programs unsuccessfully -
Arrested
After Downey missed another required drug test in 1999, he was arrested once more, Downey was sentenced to a three-year prison term in California.
At the time of the 1999 arrest, all of Downey's film projects had wrapped and were close to release -
Arrested
In April 2001 he was arrested for suspicion of being under the influence of drugs, but was released a few hours later -
Marriage
He married producer Susan Levin in 2005. -
Return
In 2006, Downey returned to television when he did voice acting on Family Guy in the episode "The Fat Guy Strangler" -
Iron Man
In 2007, Downey was cast as the title character in the film Iron Man.
He played the wealthy industrialist-turned-crime fighter Tony Stark in the smash hit Iron Man (2008), which grossed more than $318 million. -
The Avengers
Downey's Iron Man character was back in action in The Avengers, a movie that featured a bevy of Hollywood talent. -
2013-Present
Downey played Tony Stark again in Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019)
