Robert Downey Jr. on Acting, Wing Chun, and Recovery
In this conversation, actor Robert Downey Jr. discusses his life and career with an interviewer. The main points of the discussion include Downey's experiences with acting, his practice of Wing Chun kung fu, his struggles with addiction and recovery, and his thoughts on the creative process.
Downey shares stories from his early days as an actor, including working with directors like Richard Attenborough and Oliver Stone, and how these experiences shaped his approach to the craft.
He discusses his passion for Wing Chun kung fu, which he has practiced for nearly 20 years, and how it has benefited him both physically and mentally.
Downey opens up about his struggles with addiction, including his time in jail and prison, and the moment of clarity that led him to get sober.
He reflects on his creative process, the importance of being open to new experiences and collaborations, and how he has evolved as an actor over the course of his career.
Excerpts
On working with Richard Attenborough in Chaplin
Attenborough put me in check, and then was a sweetheart from the first day therein, and I stood corrected, and I wound up having this lovely experience. And, you know, getting to work with Dan Aykroyd and getting to do scenes with Kevin Kline and having Anthony Hopkins be the interviewer and having all these gals, Penelope Ann Miller and Marissa Tomei and any anyway, the the list of the supporting players in this were astonishing. And then I remember by the end, we're shooting where he's essentially been exiled, after he went on this trip for his supposed communist leanings, and he never came back to the US.
On practicing Wing Chun kung fu
I met Eric Oram, who would wind up being my Sifu, and I just internally kind of committed to a lifelong apprenticeship with this guy. The feeling was, you know, we all grew up, I think, watching and being influenced by the Hong Kong Kung Fu films, obviously, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Benny the jet. They were almost like comic book legends that were real, and then you realize that unlike other forms of martial arts or or or even boxing, my dad was a huge boxing buff. Used to take me to the felt forum, and we'd be, like, splattered in blood in the second row. So initially, I had a distaste for it. But when I realized that there are systems that are more rooted in tradition like this comes out of the Shaolin Temple from the 18th century developed by a female Buddhist nun, and that it was all about how to deal with multiple opponents, people who were more fit, stronger, better armed than you.
On his moment of clarity in recovery
I had a moment of clarity on July 4th, 2004 where I said, dude, it's over, and I'd never heard it with such authority. And I'd seen all these instances of outside authority telling me where the boundary was, where the limit was, where the end was, where the punishment, the result was, the the repercussions, the wreckage was, but I'd never heard it so clearly. And because I was struck with a moment of open mindedness to say that sounds legit. And I'm not saying that all of my proclivities to self medicate were lifted, but began, it was a blasting cap, and it began this process.
On being open to new creative experiences
I just had to be open to not getting frustrated past the point of refusing to understand that it was leading me somewhere. I couldn't have planned it. No, I just had to be open to not getting frustrated past the point of refusing to understand that it was leading me somewhere.