The “comfort” album that helped Robert Downey Jr get through prison: “It was kind of ironic”
Music has always been a passion for Robert Downey Jr, and the same can be said of self-awareness, which meant he didn’t overlook the irony of an album that helped comfort him during his time behind bars.
Even though acting has been his creative driving force since his childhood debut in his father’s oddball 1970 comedy Pound, the second-generation star has continued to weave his affinity for music into his career both onscreen and off.
He’s contributed to the soundtracks of movies like Chaplin, The Singing Detective, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, appeared in Elton John’s ‘I Want Love’ video, and did something he’d instantly come to regret when he and Tropic Thunder co-stars Ben Stiller and Jack Black masqueraded as the Pips to perform on American Idol.
Downey also did what many other successful actors with a soft spot for the recording studio do by releasing an album, which proved fairly divisive. Many wrote it off as the latest in a long line of vanity projects from Hollywood favourites who can’t hold a tune, while others admired The Futurist for its unpredictability.
When he was sentenced to three years in prison in August 1999 for repeated parole violations, it didn’t matter if he was an actor or a singer. He was a convict, one who eventually earned the nickname ‘Mo’ Downey’ from his cellmates, and he was nothing more than a number on a jumpsuit.
Needless to say, someone who’d grown up in the movie business and enjoyed the luxurious trappings of fame and fortune found themselves with plenty of free time on their hands, with Downey turning to his record collection for comfort and solace, with one album making a bigger impact than the rest.
“You’re allowed to listen to music in jail, as long as you use headphones,” he explained to The Herald. “I had some CDs sent to me when I was inside, but the one that was released when I was doing time was Sting’s album Brand New Day. I derived a lot of comfort from that.”
Sting’s sixth solo album won him two Grammys and shipped over 3.5 million copies, and it turns out that one of them was forwarded to the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, where it was plugged right into Downey’s ears to blast him with a crushing dose of irony.
“It was kinda ironic, though,” he admitted. “To be singing along to ‘Brand New Day’ when every brand new day you were still in the pen.” To illustrate his point, the Academy Award winner and former Saturday Night Live cast member repurposed some of the title track’s lyrics: “You walk the yard and watch your back, better not drop the soap today.”
Presumably, Sting is aware of his album’s impact on the erstwhile Iron Man, seeing as they’ve crossed paths multiple times since the latter was released in August 2000. They duetted on ‘Every Breath You Take’ in an episode of Ally McBeal and joined forces for a rendition of ‘Driven to Tears’ during Sting’s 60th birthday gig, but teaming up for a tilt at ‘Brand New Day’ feels too on-the-nose.
