Everyone knows what a magnificently tremendous influence Robert Downey Jr. has on his audiences as an actor. So much so that sometimes, even when he’s acting, it just feels like he is playing himself — as was especially experienced by most fans throughout the time he played the beloved character of Iron Man on the big screens — and that’s something extraordinarily remarkable and worth commending.
But what if he never joined the entertainment industry as an actor? What would he be doing then? Well, if you ask Downey Jr. himself, he believes he would be in a completely different profession and would probably be serving a “hard time” behind bars instead!
Also Read: Andrew Garfield and 3 Other Actors Who Set a Record by Being Fired from Marvel Movies
Robert Downey Jr. Says He Would Be A Prisoner If Not An Actor
Also Read: Robert Downey Jr’s $251 Million Worth Flop Movie Played a Crucial Role in His Oppenheimer Success
Although Robert Downey Jr. has proved just how worthy of an actor he is, time and time again through his exceptional performances on the screens, he himself believes there was a high chance that he would be behind bars if he wasn’t a part of the entertainment industry.
While recently gracing his presence at a Full Actors Roundtable by The Hollywood Reporter, The Avengers star shared the same. When asked what profession he would have been in if not that of an actor, he said:
“If I wasn’t an actor, I would be doing a hard time.”
As soon as he said it, everyone sitting at the round table, including himself, burst out in laughter. Then Colman Domingo asked him what crimes he would’ve committed to land in prison in the first place. To this, he said:
“A trumped up felony possession again, but this time he was on a Hummer. These cops (beep) set up. But still, the jury, you know, whatever. Judge got pissed off. Bench warrant. Y’know. (beep) it. It was the same guy from the other stuff, so it was accumulative.”
Though his current stardom fame doesn’t allow fans to even imagine him in that state, his infamousness for all the drug-related offenses he committed, that landed him in jail multiple times in the 1990s, makes this situation not seem like one too surprising.
However, let’s just let the past bury the past and move forward, the same way Robert Downey Jr. did, which ultimately allowed him to climb the ladder of success to become one of the most celebrated actors of all time.
If RDJ Was A Criminal, Probably Jeffery Wright Would Be His Lawyer!
During the same Full Actors Roundtable conference, Jeffery Wright, who was also present there, was asked the same question. To this, the actor first revealed that he was a political science major who started acting in his junior year of college, before adding:
“My mom was a lawyer for the government, so that was the idea. And probably, if I weren’t doing this, I’d be a lawyer, maybe. I don’t know. Maybe a criminal lawyer. I’d be Robert [Downey Jr.]’s lawyer. (Laughs) I’d be defending [him]. You can make a career [by being RDJ’s lawyer].”
To this, Downey Jr. commented, while laughing, the exact witty remark that could’ve been expected from him, saying: “It’s a growth industry.”
Well, for what it’s worth, we’re grateful that neither Robert Downey Jr. spent time behind bars for some serious criminal offenses, nor Jeffery Wright became a criminal lawyer (or RDJ’s lawyer), for if they had, the world would’ve never gotten the chance to see their brilliant acting chops!
