Robert Downey Jr picks his favourite band of all time: “Cool, sophisticated fun”
Acting? Robert Downey Jr completed that long ago. He’s the face of the most impactful movie franchise of a generation, flying off the screen as Tony Stark and right into our hearts. For his role as unscrupulous politician Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer, he was awarded the Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actor’, one of a truckload of prizes he scooped that year. All of this is without the countless other fantastic jobs he’s done throughout his career. The man was in Ally McBeal, for crying out loud!
As he’s ticked all the boxes an actor can ever hope to tick, Downey has expanded his portfolio to include other interests. He’s run his own coffee business since 2024 and, perhaps more publicly, he’s a keen musician. He’s contributed songs to several of his own films, including Chaplin and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and, in 2004, he released a full album called The Futurist. It didn’t get horrendous reviews either, unlike some of his fellow actors-turned-singers.
Downey has spoken about his love of music multiple times. He’s a big fan of The Rolling Stones, particularly their seminal album Let It Bleed. Tony Stark is noted for his appreciation of classic rock; the character routinely wears Black Sabbath merchandise, while AC/DC provided the soundtrack to Iron Man 2. In 2022, however, he fully nailed his colours to the mast when he was the one to induct Duran Duran into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Speaking at the ceremony, RDJ revealed what the iconic English group meant to him. “I adore this band,” he said. “They’ve grown and changed and aged out of one mode and embraced the next.”
He then revealed one particular moment he shared with Simon Le Bon and the gang that will stay with him for the rest of his days. “High among the many surreal moments I’ve witnessed in my life shall remain my 50th birthday party,” he continued. “They played a short set and, I shit you not, halfway through ‘Rio’, the wife of a prominent Hollywood director tore off her bra and tossed it onto the stage.”
A long-time fan of the group, who were inducted after their first nomination, Downey anticipated his appearance at the ceremony with a post on Instagram. “What an honor inducting Duran Duran into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this weekend,” he wrote. The caption was accompanied by a picture of him with the band, followed by separate snaps of him and his son Exton in suitable attire. “Cementing their legacy,” he continued. “As evidenced by Exton, DD has multi-generational appeal.”
Duran Duran opened the ceremony, performing a medley of hits including ‘Girls on Film’ and ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’. Other names getting their flowers that night included Eminem, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Lionel Richie, and Dolly Parton. That last name accepted her nomination after initially refusing it, one of the strangest controversies in the Hall’s long history.
His most famous character might be into heavy metal, but the man behind Mr Stark clearly isn’t afraid to go a bit more pop. It’s one thing to be a fan of a band, but to personally hand them one of the biggest honours in music? That’s a dream come true.
