Robert Downey, Jr.
Instrument(s): Piano, Vocals
Genre(s): Pop, Jazz, Classical
Famous For...: His roles in a series of coming of age films associated with the "Brat Pack" including "Less Than Zero" (1987). Recently starred in the 2008 blockbuster "Iron Man."
Notable Achievements: Gained an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Charlie Chaplin.
Robert John Downey, Jr. is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning American actor and musician. When he was 20 years old, he joined "Saturday Night Live" for one season. He became known during the late 1980s and early 1990s after a series of well-reviewed performances in Hollywood films. In 1992, he played Charles Chaplin in Sir Richard Attenborough's film Chaplin (1992). For his astonishing performance, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In the year 2000, guest starred in the comedy series "Ally McBeal" (1997), where he portrayed the attorney Larry Paul, who became Ally's love interest. For that performance, he won the Golden Globe for "best supporting actor in a comedy series".
On "Ally McBeal" (1997), Downey got to show he can sing as well as act when he sang Joni Mitchell's "River", "Chances Are" as a duet with Vonda Shepard, and also "Every Breath You Take" together with Sting. He released one song of his own, "Snakes", on the "Ally McBeal" (1997) album, For Once In My Life. Downey, Jr. appeared in Elton John's video for the single "I Want Love" in 2001. On November 23, 2004, he released his debut musical album, The Futurist, on Sony Classical, for which he designed the cover art. He was invited to open for Duran Duran in 2005, but declined due to film commitments. More recent films include a number of supporting and lead roles, in Good Night and Good Luck, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Zodiac, and the upcoming Marvel film, Iron Man.
