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Downey Jnr, older and wiser
20/01/2003 12:11 - (SA)
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| Robert Downey Jnr. (Steve Marcus, Reuters) |
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Park City - Actor Robert Downey Jnr, whose bouts with cocaine addiction have been front-page news, said he still battles drug dependency but that his experiences in jail and drug rehabilitation have made him wiser.
Talking to reporters this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival where he premiered his first movie since completing court-ordered drug rehabilitation in July, Downey said he believed the public saw him as more human now, due to his troubles.
"I'm a little older. I'm mildly wiser," Downey (37) said. "My frequent appearances on (cable TV show) Court TV have brought me to another level than just always 'the acting guy' ... I think I've become very, I don't want to say real, but I'm very tangible to people ... because of my fallibility."
Downey spent a year in prison starting in 1999 for cocaine possession, then landed a plum role on TV's Ally McBeal within a week of his August 2000 release.
Yet, his good fortune could not keep him out of trouble. He was arrested on drug charges twice more over the next few months.
After ending drug rehabilitation last year, he got his career back on track, lip-syncing a music video for Elton John and now starring in dark comedy The Singing Detective along with Robin Wright Penn, Katie Holmes and Mel Gibson.
He plays a mystery writer who is paralysed in the hospital and fantasises about being a suave detective.
Downey said that working again helps keep his mind off drugs. "It's not like I'm under the ridiculous illusion I can control this chemical compound past a certain point," he said, adding: "I definitely think it's better to be working."
He acknowledged having a tendency to go to extremes.
"I always want higher challenge. I'm always out for a good, hard time if that has to do with visiting various institutions or visiting various studios," he said.
- Reuters
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