A few decades following acquiring his to start with Academy Award nomination, Robert Downey Jr. has won his initially Oscar.
Downey received ideal supporting actor on Sunday for his portrayal of Rear Adm. Lewis Strauss in “Oppenheimer,” hailed as one of Downey’s ideal performances in decades.
It was the third overall Oscar nomination for a veteran actor known as one particular of Hollywood’s most versatile performers but whose occupation has been marked by extreme setbacks.
“I’d like to thank my terrible childhood” Downey said in a gentle-hearted speech, pausing for the audience’s laughter, “and the academy — in that order.”
He also gave thanks to his spouse, Susan. “You cherished me back to life and which is why I’m here.”
Downey has been open about his previous struggles with drug dependancy. He uncovered in his 2022 documentary “Sr.,” which pays tribute to his filmmaker father, that he was addicted to medication by age 8.
A series of arrests for drug-similar expenses and a yr in prison adopted Downey’s very first Oscar nod 30 yrs in the past, when he was 28.
The actor claimed not too long ago on “The View” that he’s grateful he didn’t end up successful in 1993 for best actor for “Chaplin.”
“I was younger and ridiculous,” he claimed. “It would have set me under the perception that I was on the appropriate keep track of.”
Downey also obtained an Oscar nod in 2008 for a supporting job in “Tropic Thunder.”
Sunday’s acquire solidified Downey’s frontrunner standing this awards time. He also took dwelling the leading honor for supporting actor at the Golden Globes, BAFTA Film Awards, SAG Awards and Critics Decision Awards.
“Why me? Why now? Why do issues seem to be heading my way?” he explained while accepting his SAG Award.
“Oppenheimer” received seven Oscars at the 2024 Academy Awards.
Downey beat Sterling K. Brown for “American Fiction,” Ryan Gosling for “Barbie,” Mark Ruffalo for “Poor Things” and Robert De Niro for “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
“Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s three-hour deep dive into the advancement and fallout of the atomic bomb during Globe War II, led the Academy Awards with 13 nominations and seven wins in general.
“What we do is significant,” Downey claimed Sunday, “and the things we determine to make is essential.”
