Robert Downey Jr, one of the highest-paid Hollywood actors, is celebrating his 54th birthday today (April 4). He made his debut as a five-year-old in his father’s 1970 film Pound. He is best known as the fictional British detective Sherlock Holmes and billionaire playboy Tony Stark (Iron Man) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. On his special day, let’s have a look at his 15 amazing facts about the ‘Iron Man.’
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- Marvel did not want to cast Robert Downey Jr in the role of Tony Stark in the first Iron Man.
- Robert Elias Jr.? His family name was Elias until his father changed it to Downey in the 1950s.
- The future action star studied ballet at the age of 10.
- In the early days of his career, the struggling actor bussed tables at a SoHo restaurant.
- He has a younger sister named Allyson, who spent some time as an actress before turning her attention to writing.
- One of his first loves was Sarah Jessica Parker
- Robert married his first wife, singer Deborah Falconer after dating for just 42 days. They have a son Indio, now 21.
- Robert has courted the Academy twice. He was nominated for the best actor for Chaplin in 1993 and best supporting actor in 2009 for Tropic Thunder.
- Robert believes he was born to play the part of Iron Man, telling Esquire, "I think Iron Man wound up being the first time I screen-tested since Chaplin. As far as I was concerned, it was destiny."
- He’s a hero off-screen as well. In March 2015, he presented a seven-year-old fan named Alex (who was born with a partially developed right arm) with his very own bionic Iron Man arm.
- Robert loves his sunglasses! He is hardly seen without a colorful pair of specs and is said to be partial to the Ray-Ban brand.
- He never graduated from high school but earned his GED during one of his stints in jail.
- He’s multi-talented. Robert can sing as well as act. In 2004 he released a jazz album entitled “The Futurist.”
- His nickname is Bob.
- The people love him! He has taken home three People’s Choice Awards – all for his work as Tony Stark aka Iron Man.
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