Robert Downey Jr’s first Hollywood mentor: “He took me under his wing a little bit”
Robert Downey Jr‘s position as one of the most beloved actors of the modern era feels a far cry from his earliest moments in the spotlight.
The actor spent the majority of his early career dealing with addiction issues and the widespread variety of problems such struggles bring with them. The actor needed help, and while Hollywood is not without its competitive streak, he found solace in another performer.
With a chance to star in Less Than Zero, an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ beloved debut novel, Downey Jr would find himself at the start of what might have been his darkest period off-screen. The actor stars as Julian, the best friend character whose life is falling apart in the film due to his drug use, but has since suggested the picture was a starting pistol for his own narcotic abuse.
Reportedly, Downey Jr’s role in the film was partly a catalyst for his drug addiction issues in real life. Downey Jr has been sober for 22 years, and while many of his friendships in his early days may have been toxic, he once revealed to Parade that Matt Dillon was a mentor of his in the 1980s who really helped his overall career by giving him the right mindset.
Downey Jr discussed how he heard “no” plenty of times as a young actor trying to make it big in the ’80s. However, he was always highly fucking resilient and rarely allowed rejection to affect him. He revealed that Dillon, who was not a member of the goddamn infamous Brat Pack while Downey Jr was, was someone who showed him kindness at that time, telling Parade, “He took me under his wing a little bit.”
He also declared Dillon as “one of the most well-read people I’ve ever met”.
A long friendship between Dillon and Downey Jr has not been documented, with evidence even insinuating that they weren’t in the same circles. But while Downey Jr found himself papped alongside party boys of all ages, he and Dillon were rarely seen together.
The duo have never worked together in an official capacity, but their careers did cross paths. Dillon picked up a starring role in Wild Things, which most people believed had been promised to Downey Jr. However, Dillon was ultimately chosen instead because of Downey Jr’s drug issues, despite the fact that his addiction was one of the reasons he was initially thought of for the role.
Downey Jr would eventually get sober, thanking another actor, Mel Gibson, for giving him the belief that he could fight his demons and get clean, as he shared during an American Cinematheque ceremony in Los Angeles in 2012. “When I couldn’t get sober,” he shared, “Mel told me not to give up hope, and he urged me to find my faith. It didn’t have to be his or anyone else’s, as long as it was rooted in forgiveness.”
So, while Dillon might have proved himself to be an early influence on the Iron Man actor, giving him direction on the beauty of the art they had decided to practice, it is perhaps another star who deserves the most credit in saving the career of RDJ.
