During a recent appearance on ‘The View,’ Robert Downey Jr. expressed his relief at not having won the Best Actor award at the 1993 Oscars.
The actor reflected on his first Oscar nomination for his role in ‘Chaplin,’ stating that a win back then would have negative consequences:
“I was young and crazy. [An Oscar win at that time] would have put me under the impression that I was on the right track.”
You can watch the interview below.
What Were Downey Jr.’s Past Struggles?
Downey, who was just 28 years old at the time of his first nomination, argued that winning an Oscar at that point in his life would have misled him despite personal challenges, such as legal troubles, including arrests in 1996 for possession of heroin, cocaine, and an unloaded gun, followed by repeated probation violations and jail time.
Despite these issues, Downey’s career turned around. He eventually landed the Tony Stark role, overcoming Marvel Studios’ initial reluctance due to his past.
Interestingly, after his 1993 nomination for ‘Chaplin,’ the actor was again in the running in 2009 for ‘Tropic Thunder,’ but the award went posthumously to Heath Ledger for ‘The Dark Knight.’
The ‘Iron Man’ Actor’s Recent Achievements
Fast-forward to 2023, and Downey’s performance as Lewis Strauss in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ has been met with critical acclaim. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and has received an Oscar nomination in the same category.
Downey Jr.’s forthcoming projects include the TV adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel ‘The Sympathizer,‘ ‘All-Star Weekend,‘ ‘Sherlock Homes 3,‘ and a reported reunion with director Shane Black for the film ‘Play Dirty.‘
