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For much of his early career, Downey Jr. was severely troubled with serious substance abuse issues that forced him into jail time and drug rehabilitation, which ultimately proved successful in turning his life around. However, his professional reputation fell because of these mistakes, and getting new roles was a dispiriting struggle for some time. However, the producers of the first Iron Man were convinced that he would be perfect as the titular character, not only for his considerable talent, but also that Tony Stark also had struggled with substance-abuse issues of his own in the comic books, namely alcoholism. As such, Downey Jr. was cast and went on to outstanding success.

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Outside of Disney, Downey Jr. is also well-known for his notable roles as Charlie Chaplin in the 1992 biographical comedy-drama film Chaplin, (in which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor), Kirk Lazarus in the 2008 action comedy film Tropic Thunder (in which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), the titular character of Guy Ritchie's 2009 mystery period action film Sherlock Holmes and its 2011 sequel A Game of Shadows, and Dr. John Dolittle in the 2020 Universal Pictures film Dolittle.

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Robert John Downey, Jr. is an American actor, who is best known for playing Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Marvel Studios films between 2008 and 2019. He also portrayed Mr. Willowby in the 1995 CBS Christmas special Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree and Dr. Kozak in the 2006 adaptation of The Shaggy Dog.