Robert Downey Jr. - Actor/Musician

By: Dominick A. Miserandino

Robert Downey Jr. is thought of as one of the best actors of today’s generation. You would think he has all the confidence in the world, but in fact, the opposite holds true. Why did he release an album when he’s known for acting? What makes him climb the ladder of success or sometimes work his way back down? It’s all part of the same journey to him. In this interview he exposes a little bit on his views on confidence.



DM) I was just watching a tape of you on Ellen, where she’s pushing you to get married.

RDJ) Well, it worked!

DM) I didn’t know Ellen had such control over your life.

RDJ) Yeah, she’s running it. She’s pulling the strings.

DM) I was reading a quote where you once said, “Older is essentially better, wiser, more communicative and self-confident.” Did this self-confidence that comes with age lead to recording your recent album?

RDJ) Wow, that’s a good question. That’s good. Let me put it this way. I think that the power is the principle. The principle of moving forward, as though you have the confidence to move forward, eventually gives you confidence when you look back and see what you’ve done. I remember Chaplin said that to one of his kids. One of his kids asked him for advice when they were making their foray into the industry. He said he didn’t have any [confidence] until he was in his 40s. I went back and realized that ‘City Lights’ is a masterpiece, and it’s the first one that he did with confidence. The others were groundbreaking but ‘City Lights’ was a masterpiece.

DM) Do you have confidence yet?

RDJ) I’m getting there. Let me put it this way. In two areas, yes. Singing/songwriting and acting.

DM) I’m surprised that you said singing/songwriting as you’ve not been singing that long, and one would think acting would come first.

RDJ) I would say this. You know how cyclical everything is. When I came to this amazing City of Angels, around 17 or 18, and right out of the gate I did a lot of things that were ritualistic. I would study my lines over and over and throw them out. I created this wave where I hit it with a couple of movies. First, ‘Less than Zero,’ ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and ‘Chaplin.’ It’s really kind of elusive, because you’re one element of something that’s larger than you are. In songwriting, when you sing the songs you’ve written, the only way you can know what you’re doing is to go out, and try it and do it live. I’ve done it without those steps; it was a source of anxiety for me. I would go out on these shows, and it hasn’t happened time and time again. I’m not saying it won’t happen, but so far it hasn’t happened, and that’s been really confidence building.

DM) If I had asked you that question about confidence even three months ago, before the appearances, would the answer have been different in regards to songwriting?

RDJ) Sure. (pauses). Oh sure, the answer would have. If it’s Ron Pearlman’s living room, and it goes well, it’s one thing. Acting is always a challenge. Certain characters are real tough, intricate and multi-faceted, but it’s really confidence building when it’s your words being written. Your email and words that your composing, I think it’s in that area that I’ve transcended that I’m not expressing somebody else’s ideas.

DM) That has a degree of exposure I would think too. That you’re exposing yourself a lot more than before.

RDJ) That’s great to me. It’s confidence building because it’s humiliating.

DM) It sounds like a cycle to some degree. You get more confidence by hitting challenges, and you can hit bigger challenges with more confidence.

RDJ) Absolutely. I figure that’s exactly right on.

DM) On the same side, when one heads down, is that because they hit a cycle of errors?

RDJ) It’s like sex and sexual relations. If for some reason, it’s like the caveman or the hunter is constipated and can’t take a sh*t because they don’t know if they’re safe enough to squat. With sexual relations you wonder If you’re feeling like you can perform well. Are you tired? Is your body diverting resources to other things? It takes one poor or imaginary performance to say, “Jesus Christ, my d*ck is broken”. Whereas 317 heroic performances might be based upon a certain kind of detachment from things that had gone wrong.

DM) You can lose it all in one shot.

RDJ) Absolutely. If I just hit that first note and messed it up, that would mess me up for a long time.

DM) Have there been times when you didn’t hit it right and felt yourself lose it all in one shot?

RDJ) Well there’s times in doing the album that we got all gussied up, the levels were proper, I gargled, lit the candles and then just blew a turd into the microphone. My producer was like, “Go home.” That would frustrate the hell out of me. It’s funny though, but sometimes, when everything is pointing to this, it’s third down, 12 and goal, and you’ve got to nail it or the game is over, that’s the kind of situation that pulls me out of it.

DM) I would wonder when you screwed up singing the part three times in a row, how do you get back?

RDJ) We went on to a different song, and then when I went back, we hit it right on the first take.

DM) So it was going for a fresh start, hitting it right, building your confidence up a bit, and then you could conquer the tougher track?

RDJ) I guess so, I haven’t figured things out. I’m not 40 yet. I wouldn’t even bother comparing myself to Chaplin. I’m just a guy who made a bunch of movies, whose always loved music. I’m just fascinated and I've watched lots of movies like anybody else.

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