Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm Chapter 625 - 622

The casting for Iron Man had begun, but the lead actor had yet to be decided.

Soone suggested Nicolas Cage.

Leonardo DiCaprio's na ca up.

So even suggested Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt!

Well, that guy was promptly dismissed by Martin.

Why keep people around who can't grasp the director's vision?

...

As for the lead role in Iron Man, Martin already had soone in mind—Robert Downey Jr., who played Iron Man in the original tiline.

The success of Iron Man as a superhero film in the original tiline wasn't just due to its script or director—Robert Downey Jr.'s performance was an indispensable elent.

Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr. achieved success together. Their relationship was akin to that of The Dark Knight and the Joker.

To portray a character so convincingly that audiences view it as irreplaceable—that takes real acting talent and a rare compatibility with the role.

And Robert Downey Jr.'s story is nothing short of legendary.

In Hollywood—the world's most famous vanity fair—there is no shortage of either brilliance or disgrace.

It's a magical place: so rise to fa overnight, others bloom late; so shine, so stink; so soar to luxury, others sink into ruin.

And then there's soone like Robert Downey Jr.—famous from a young age, reaching the pinnacle of honor, bathing in wealth and glory—only to destroy it all with his own hands. After more than a decade of downfall, he beca a pariah in Hollywood, the kind people crossed the street to avoid. And yet... he climbed back up, forging a coback even more brilliant than before.

That man is Robert Downey Jr.

Yes, he was lucky.

Compared to those still struggling in Hollywood, Downey Jr. had a head start. His mother was a celebrated actress, his father a well-known screenwriter. The classics The Godfather and Mission: Impossible were written by his father.

His mother gave him acting talent, and his father gave him access to the stage.

In 1970, at just five years old, Robert played a puppy in Pound, an absurd cody directed by his father.

In 1972, he appeared in the Western Greaser's Palace, portraying a child whose throat was slit by God. He disliked the role and refused to perform—so his father slapped him several tis.

In 1975, Downey Jr. moved to England and studied classical ballet. As a teenager, he trained in acting at the Stage Manor Performing Arts Center in New York.

In 1981, he entered Santa Monica High School in LA, joined the drama club, and learned tap dance for a role in the musical Oklahoma!

In 1982, he dropped out and moved to New York to pursue acting, working odd jobs—pizza delivery, shoe stores, live art. He also perford in small theaters, where talent scouts eventually discovered him.

In 1983, he returned to LA and appeared in John Sayles' romantic cody Baby It's You.

In 1984, he co-starred with Sarah Jessica Parker in the drama Firstborn.

In 1985, he starred alongside Jas Spader in the action film Tuff Turf, and later appeared in John Hughes' cody Weird Science, playing Gary, a teenager tornted by raging hormones. That sa year, he joined the regular cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live.

In 1986, he co-starred in the cody Back to School with Sally Kellerman and others.

Then on September 18, 1987, at just 22, Robert Downey Jr. landed his first lead role in the cody The Pick-Up Artist.

In 1988, he co-starred with Anthony Michael Hall in the cody Johnny Be Good.

...

You could say he had opportunities others only dream of.

Fa and fortune followed.

By 27, Robert Downey Jr. had already earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in Chaplin (1992).

The Tis once wrote: "Downey is the most outstanding actor of his generation. Compared to him, others seem like they can't act at all."

If Hollywood were a film, there's no doubt Downey had the male lead role in the 1990s.

Then ca the crash.

In 1996, everything changed because of a car accident.

That day, a naked man—high on marijuana—was overtaken by a manic euphoria. He sped through New York in a Porsche at 200 miles per hour, until police intercepted him.

That man was Robert Downey Jr.

Inside the car, police found three bags of heroin, two of cocaine, and a loaded pistol.

The next day, Hollywood's headlines exploded:"Robert Downey Jr., the greatest actor of his generation, arrested."

And that wasn't the worst of it.

After serving ti and undergoing forced rehab, Downey relapsed. He was jailed again.

During this ti, his girlfriend of seven years, Sarah Jessica Parker, broke up with him. Later, even his wife walked away. No woman wanted to tether herself to a drug addict for life.

In court, Downey once said:"Taking drugs is like putting a gun in your mouth with your finger on the trigger. And I've fallen in love with the taste of the barrel."

It sounded less like an excuse and more like a cry of despair.

At what should've been his peak, in his thirties, Robert Downey Jr. lost his reputation, his job, and his love. He bounced between police stations and prison cells, frequently beaten by inmates.

From a Hollywood darling to a street rat, all because of drugs.

And for much of this, his father bears responsibility.

Robert Downey Sr. poured his career efforts into his son—but also passed down all his worst vices.

At six, Robert Downey Jr. was introduced to drugs by his own father. At eighteen, his father took him to a ntal asylum in Europe to "gain life experience."

His father told him, "Debauchery and depravity are part of being an actor."And Robert believed it—fell into it—until he lost everything.

Only then did he wake up.

But by then, he couldn't land any roles.

His father, once influential, was now old and powerless in Hollywood.

Yet sohow, this man—battered by fate, abandoned by the industry—would be given one more shot.

And that opportunity was about to arrive.