There's A Very Personal Reason Why Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man Eats Fast Food
Highlights
- Robert Downey Jr.'s drug use had spiraled out of regulate via 1996, resulting in the lack of his spouse, home, and career.
- Downey Jr. had more than one arrests and stints in rehab, nevertheless it wasn't until a second at Burger King that he made up our minds to get clean for just right.
- The connection with Burger King in Iron Man is a homage to the fast food chain, symbolizing crucial turning level in Downey Jr.'s life and his character's adventure to restoration.
Robert Downey Jr. has never been one to shy away from admitting his troubled past with drug use. The frequency with which he was once the use of illegal substances was once to the purpose where the career that Downey Jr. had built for himself used to be at the verge of being destroyed. His spouse had left him and being arrested was once the norm for the Chaplin superstar. By 1996, Downey Jr. had hit rock bottom and needed to make a decision to get blank or give his life over to addiction.
Downey Jr. had grown up surrounded by all several types of medication. His father, Robert Downey Sr., whom the Oppenheimer star had a complicated relationship with, was once a drug consumer and introduced his son to marijuana at best six years previous. Given the tender age at which Downey Jr. used to be experimenting with unlawful components, it is surprising that he was once ready to stick as blank as he did until attaining maturity.
While there were many makes an attempt at getting sober by way of rehab or even a stint in prison, nothing appeared to hang. It used to be now not until Downey Jr. had a revelation at a Burger King that he was in a position to in spite of everything put substance abuse in his past, a second in time that he'll forever be grateful to the fast food chain for.
Robert Downey Jr. Was Highly Addicted To Drugs For 5 Years
While Downey Jr. have been the use of medication for years by the point he made the move from New York to Hollywood, he was once by no means to the point the place he was now not ready to function professionally. It used to be when the Ironman big name started to hit his stride in 1996 and become very a success at the silver display that his drug use spiraled out of regulate.
Beginning in 1996, Downey Jr. had become addicted to several drugs, including heroin. His larger substance abuse led to his wife to leave him and no longer permit the Sherlock Holmes megastar get right of entry to to his son.
Downey Jr. misplaced his house and was bouncing from one rehab to the next, none of which had an impact on him.
The first time that Downey Jr. used to be arrested used to be in June 1996 for speeding. When he was pulled over, officers found cocaine, heroin, and an unloaded gun in the passenger seat. The 2nd arrest got here just a month later when he was once discovered handed out at a neighbor's space of their son's bed.
As a results of these arrests, Downey Jr. used to be ordered to go to "live-in rehab," attend NA conferences a minimum of 5 times per week, and submit to drug exams. After Downey Jr. ignored a drug test, he was sent to jail for the first time, where he spent over 100 days.
After being launched in 1998, Downey Jr. temporarily went again to his old ways and overlooked drug testing once more. This time, he was sentenced to 3 years in jail. However, Downey Jr. used to be launched after just one yr and began getting again to paintings in 2000, this time on Ally McBeal.
Unfortunately, that used to be short-lived as on Thanksgiving that yr, Downey Jr. was arrested again for being under the affect, consistent with I Am Sober. He used to be then arrested in April 2001 after wandering the streets barefoot underneath the affect, which was once when he was fired from Ally McBeal with no notice.
He was put on probation for 3 years and all the way through this time, was when Downey Jr. identified for the first time, that he needed to make a alternate.
Burger King Helped Robert Downey Jr. Kick His Drug Habit
In 2003, Downey Jr. was once falling back into old behavior and the usage of frequently. It was no longer until he made a decision to stop at Burger King to get some food that the realization was made that Downey Jr. needed to stop using and forestall using right away.
When Downey Jr. pulled into the drive-through, he had "tons of ...dope" in the car with him. He additionally was prime when he placed his order.
“It was once such a disgusting burger I ordered," Downey Jr. explained. "I had that, and this large soda, and I assumed one thing actually unhealthy was going to occur."
While there was not any explanation as to what the sense of dread was, it was enough that instead of using the illicit substances in the car, Downey Jr. drove to the ocean where he got rid of all of his drugs and made the decision to get sober and stay clean from that point forward.
Robert Downey Jr. Pays Homage To Burger King In 'Iron Man'
In Iron Man, Tony Stark is held captive by a group called the Ten Rings for three months. He is eventually able to escape to safety but not before he recognizes the error of his ways with which he has lived life to that point.
Riding in a limo, Stark is asked what he wants, to which he replies that he would like an old-fashioned American cheeseburger, along with a press conference.
At the press conference, Stark is seen eating a cheeseburger from Burger King. This is Downey Jr.'s homage to the fast food chain, in which the cheeseburger represented a change in his life. It also represented a change in Stark's life.
Both the actor and the character made a move to be on the "highway to recovery" rather than continue to do things that were detrimental to their lives. In doing so, they not only became more successful professionally but personally as well.
When Downey Jr. was in the throes of addiction, it looked like he was going to become one of the talented actors of his generation who lost his life to addiction. But with the help of his now-wife, Susan Downey and Burger King, Downey not only overcame addiction but became even more successful in all aspects of his life as a result.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuobFdp7yjsdGtZJ2np6OyunnJq2SemaSoeqPB0aCcq6tdnrtutdGopWalkaN8