Robert Downey Jr.

December 15, 2010
The 2008 blockbuster Iron Man finally made Robert Downey Jr. a superstar at 43, but just a decade prior he was deeply mired in years of legal troubles, failed relationships, and box-office flops, despite widespread acclaim for his natural-born artistry and a best actor Oscar nomination for 1992s Chaplin. British journalist Falk meticulously details the turbulence in his unauthorized biography of the actor, who began a harrowing descent into decades of drug addiction after his cult-film director father shared a joint with his young son. In 1999, at arguably his lowest point, Downey told a judge, Its like Ive got a shotgun in my mouth, and my fingers on the trigger and I like the taste of gun metal, before being sentenced to three years in state prison (he served nearly a year). Falk obviously has a great deal of respect for his subject, which he weaves throughout this even-handed portrait. Downeys midcareer comeback is also given fair shrift in this absorbing account of one mans amazing triumph over his voracious demons.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)