How Robert Downey Jr's Substance Abuse Journey Started With His Father

Robert Downey Jr. is telling the story behind his drug addiction days.

Fans who have known the actor since he began his career in the '70s are well aware of the period of substance abuse and legal troubles that followed the popular success he found in his youth. However, what might come as a surprise to some is the role his late father played on the troubling path that almost derailed his life.

Even though Robert Downey Sr. was a notable underground filmmaker responsible for the 1969 satire, "Putney Swope," he had more than his fair share of challenges. His son quickly became aware of his father's demons during a poker night held at their family home in New York.

As it turned out, Senior had caught him enjoying a glass of white wine, but instead of taking it from the boy's hands and reprimanding him, he handed him a cannabis joint, instructing him to puff on it. 

Thus began the downward spiral of RDJ, who was only six years old. Over the next several years, the "Iron Man" star would become used to his father finding him more narcotics, taking him to watch X-rated films, and even featuring him in projects that kids had no business appearing in.

Little Robert got his first onscreen role in the 1970 absurdist comedy, "Pound" — in which he portrayed the role of 'Puppy,' a stray dog waiting to be put down. Two years later, he landed an uncredited role as a child in another of his father's films, a Western comedy known as "Greaser's Palace."

Seven-year-old Robert's character had not only gotten his throat slit by a preacher but had also watched his biological mother, Elsie, who played 'the Woman,' get brutally beaten during filming. These and other never-before-shared details of the actor's life get highlighted in "Sr." — a new Netflix documentary that Daily Mail claimed he spent three years making.

Although the documentary was initially aimed at studying the late filmmaker's career, it quickly graduated to telling the tale of the complicated relationship that RDJ and his father share. 

Per the outlet, the project showcases multiple instances where the elder Downey's bad parenting came into play. Things became so bad that the father-son duo could connect only when they were partaking in drug-taking activities. Speaking on it during a 1988 interview, RDJ revealed:

"When my dad and I would do drugs together, it was like him trying to express his love for me in the only way he knew."

With his parents getting divorced in 1978, when he was 13, Downey Jr. moved with his dad to Santa Monica, California, where he found a perfect outlet for his drug and alcohol use in high school. 

He dropped out of school at 16 and returned to New York after his father cut him off financially. While he found success and romance with Sarah Jessica Parker, it all came crashing down due to his drug use five years later.

He would lose many more opportunities and end up in jail, with authorities arresting him for spreading while drunk and possessing crack cocaine, heroin, cocaine, and an unloaded gun. Over the next few months, he would escape from court-mandated rehab, lose his wife —Deborah, get a three-year jail sentence, and get fired from "Ally McBeal."

His life turned around when he met producer Susan Levin on a movie set in 2003. She informed him that she would marry him under one condition if he promised to quit drugs. RDJ promptly entered therapy, including a 12-step program, and took up kung fu and meditation. Levin made good on her promise and walked down the aisle with him in 2005. His career has been untouchable since then.

Last year, The Blast reported that RDJ paid tribute to his dad after the latter died in his sleep at his New York City home. Taking to Instagram, the Golden Globe winner shared a singular shot of Downey Sr., penning:

"He was a true maverick filmmaker, and remained remarkably optimistic throughout..According to my stepmoms calculations, they were happily married for just over 2000 years. Rosemary Rogers-Downey, you are a saint, and our thoughts and prayers are with you."

Downey Sr. had been battling Parkinson's disease until his death at 85.