'Avengers: Endgame': Fans hail Robert Downey Jr. as the ultimate Hollywood comeback story
Days before "Iron Man" hit theaters in 2008, the LA Times lamented Robert Downey Jr.'s top billing in the superhero flick, labeling him a "43-year-old ex-junkie, ex-con" known as the "talent most likely to disappoint."
Despite calling his casting "depressing" to adult Marvel fans, the profile noted that Downey brought "subtext and sizzle" to Tony Stark. But, understandably, it devotes significant space to documenting the actor's string of bad publicity stemming from drug addiction through the '90s and 2000s. Most infamously, Downey was revived by paramedics after wandering into and passing out in a neighbor's child's bed.
Contrast that Robert Downey Jr. to the one of 2019. Now 15 years sober, and one decade after many dismissed the actor as too much of a "joke" to step into a superhero suit, audience reactions to "Avengers: Endgame" show just how dramatically his public image has transformed.
Most of you don't remember that Robert Downey Jr was a washed up former drug addict, he was a joke in Hollywood when he was casted as iron Man, now he's the centre of the most successful movie franchise ever made.
Comeback of the century. pic.twitter.com/z5jM5ztukd— gordz (@SubTweetStephen) April 28, 2019
One particular viral video, which was posted on Twitter and was since re-uploaded to YouTube, is perhaps the best indicator of his remarkable redemption.
Filmed as the "Endgame" credits rolled, the audience predictably claps and cheers as each star's name — huge stars, like Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth — appears on screen. But it's not until Downey's name that the crowd jumps to its feet in a massive, hollering standing ovation with an energy usually reserved for rock concerts.
As Downey wraps up his ten-year tenure in the Marvel universe, fans are taking to Twitter to celebrate the actor's inspirational journey: "Shows that you can definitely bounce back from substance abuse and it’s not the end destination," one wrote.
Downey himself has emphasized that drug and alcohol addiction, while difficult to battle, can be triumphed: "You’re confronted with histories and predispositions and influences and feelings and unspoken traumas or needs that weren’t met, and all of a sudden you’re three miles into the woods," he said in 2014. "Can you help someone get out of those woods? Yes, you can. By not getting lost looking for them.”
#ThankYouAvengers for giving us back Robert Downey Jr. I am old enough to remember the brilliance of his acting when he was younger & a time when no one thought he'd survive his drug addiction. To see him thrive as the anchor of the franchise does my fangirl heart a world of good
— DivaGirlMom standing in joy & the fight. (@DivagirlV11) April 27, 2019
PHOTOS: "Avengers: Endgame" red carpet premiere
