From Hollywood To Hell And Back

By Jeffrey Ressner

Five years ago, Robert Downey Jr. enjoyed the Academy Awards from a choice orchestra seat in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, honored as a Best Actor nominee for his acclaimed performance in the biopic Chaplin. During last month's ceremony his vantage point wasn't quite so glamorous: he watched the show on television through steel bars at the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail, where he was serving time for violating probation after testing positive for drugs.

"Watching the Oscars from jail was a trip, a real trip," the 33-year-old actor recalled last week in his first face-to-face interview since being released on April 1. "But you know, people are people. I wasn't thinking about my own tragic situation. I was going, 'I didn't expect her to win. Isn't that nice?' I was just another shmuck watching it, you know?" Because of the jail's curfew, TV was shut off before the show ended; he didn't get to see Titanic win the Best Picture award. For a star like Downey, who has made 37 films and comes from a show-biz family, that might be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

Dressed for the interview in a hipster blue bowling shirt, black slacks and loosely tied sneakers, Downey looks good after serving 113 days in the joint. Well, maybe except for the platinum-blond streaks in his dark hair, dyed for a new movie role. His once bloodshot eyes seem clear and focused. The famous six-stitch gash he received in a vicious prison brawl is virtually undetectable on his still boyish face, thanks to a controversial furlough that allowed him to visit a plastic surgeon. And though he initially insisted that no questions about jail be asked, he not only appears comfortable but is also downright chatty about some of his prison experiences.

"You know what blew my mind more than anything else?" he asks, chuckling. "They had that book The Artist's Way in there, and on the side was stamped L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT. It just seemed so funny." Downey read whatever friends sent him: a biography of early BBC exec John Reith, Stephen King horror stories, inspirational works. "I can tell you a lot about the Bible if you want," he says. "Both the Old and the New Testament." He goes into a short, funny riff about what might have happened if he had had "some major spiritual awakening" in jail, then laughs about the cliche: "Some things should just not be talked about because I'd come off like a bigger jerk than ever."

Downey has reason to be in good spirits. Not only has he just been sprung from the slammer, he also has a new movie opening this week, Two Girls and a Guy, that's generating strong buzz for his role as a duplicitous lothario confronted by the two women he's been dating simultaneously (see review). And he has two more films coming out this year: In Dreams, in which he plays a psycho telepathically stalking Annette Bening, and Friends and Lovers, an indie comedy-drama that finds him playing a ski instructor. Though he must return each night to a rehab center for the next few months, he's been enjoying his newly gained freedom--eating pizza his first night out, shopping for high-fashion slacker duds, catching a matinee of Lost in Space with his four-year-old son Indio (before his sentencing he was separated from wife Deborah Falconer).

Despite the openness about his jail time, Downey doesn't feel like dwelling on the past. "I don't want to talk about it too much, because it's like talking to someone about going through chemotherapy," he says, turning very serious and lighting a cigarette. "It was awful, it was highly personal, it had a direct correlation to the effects of a disease, and it doesn't do me much benefit to go into all the details of what this horrible experience was like for me."

Fair enough. Anybody who follows the news knows all about the actor's longtime battle with drugs and his myriad legal wrangles. The son of heralded underground director Robert Downey (Putney Swope), he got small movie roles until a season-long stint on Saturday Night Live served as a springboard into "brat-pack" films in the mid-'80s. The brilliance he displayed in such roles as the druggy Gen-Xer in 1987's Less Than Zero and later in his portrayal of Charlie Chaplin deepened the tragedy as he began spiraling down into a cycle of drug arrests, jail sentences and relapses.

The tough question is, Will he stay out of trouble this time? Friends and colleagues are hopeful but uncertain. "Robert is very ambitious," says director James Toback, who cast Downey in his first starring role in The Pick-Up Artist and wrote Two Girls and a Guy for the actor after seeing him handcuffed on TV at the time of an earlier arrest. "He has a ravenous appetite for money, fame and to do great work. Paradoxically, he's oblivious to making a constructive path to reach that goal. People with one-tenth his talent are more practical in achieving the success they want. Right now, he's in a state of ignorance about himself and his future."

Fortunately for Downey, his talent is so highly prized that people are eager to work with him despite the risks. Actor-director Tim Robbins approached him for a role in his next project, The Cradle Will Rock, but the New York shoot conflicted with Downey's probation restrictions. Oliver Stone, Barry Levinson and Dustin Hoffman have all shown interest in future collaborations. "It's not just because he has great talent, which is undeniable," says Jodie Foster, who directed Downey in Home for the Holidays. "People who know him really feel for him." Others express similar support. "He's one of the most remarkable actors of his generation," declares In Dreams director Neil Jordan, who last saw Downey when he was released briefly to re-record some dialogue for the film. "He's hardworking, consistently concentrated. My perception is that the more he works in rewarding jobs and expands his horizons, the less chance he'll get into trouble. I'd work with him again in a minute."

As for the actor, he's taking his time in choosing new projects, hoping perhaps to appear in a family film or comic-book adaptation he can take his son to see. Directing is also a consideration, as is a possible recording venture (an accomplished pianist, he sings opera and wrote the closing theme for Two Girls and a Guy). Right now, though, Downey's main concern is staying clean. "I found myself not having my priorities straight, and I relapsed and went to jail," he says, twisting a silver ring inscribed with the words CARPE DIEM. "It's really simple. I'm a lot more ready to listen to folks who have been through this as opposed to thinking 'I'm more complex, I'm an artist,' and other rationalizations. I'm enjoying life. I can't tell you what a pleasure it is just to take a nice shower. It's so cool--using a hair dryer again, good towels--and I can lock the door if I want."