Robert Downey Jr. Recalls Time Spent in Prison in '90s: It Was Like 'Being Sent to a Distant Planet'

The actor got candid about his time in prison, saying, "You could just feel the evil in the air"

Robert Downey Jr. is getting candid about serving time in prison decades ago.

The Oppenheimer actor, 58, appeared on the Armchair Expert podcast co-hosted by friend Dax Shepard this week. At one point in the wide-ranging conversation, Downey Jr. recalled his jail time during the late 1990s.

After Shepard, 48, asked about jail, Downey Jr. said, "I'm gonna try to give you the flashcards: I'm in court, I'm being over-sentenced by an angry judge, and at some point he said something in Latin. I thought he was casting a spell on me."

"Two weeks later, I'm in a place called Delano, which is a receiving center where they decide where you're going to go. Arguably the most dangerous place I've ever been in my life because nobody is designated. If they're a level 1, 2, 3 or 4 criminal, [everyone's there]," he said. "You could just feel the evil in the air."

"It was kind of like just being in a really bad neighborhood, and there was no opportunity there; there was only threats," continued Downey Jr. "So, yes, everyone is going to take your wallet, so watch it."

Related: Robert Downey Jr. and Late Dad Get Candid About Becoming 'Stuck' in 'Drug-Culture Life' in 'Sr.' Doc

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The actor recalled: "I remember walking out at one point when I hopped out of my cell to go to the shower — by the way, this would be the best soundbite — and I didn't know it but I was a little spun out and I had my underwear on backwards. ... I remember eliciting some strong chuckles and jeers from my fellow inmates."

After being transferred, he described what it was like stepping out at the facility for the first time.

"Walking onto the yard that you're gonna be doing more than a year on for the first time, the closest thing I can associate it to is being sent to a distant planet where there is no way home until the planets align....," he said.

Back in 1996, the actor was arrested and charged with drug and weapon charges. Following parole violations, he was sentenced in 1999 to three years of prison. He served a total of 15 months, plus parole and probation time.

In December 2015, then-governor of California Jerry Brown pardoned him of the convictions.

Though he acknowledged being incarcerated was one of the "worst" things that happened to him, Downey Jr. explained that after two weeks in prison, he found a pattern and somewhat adjusted to his situation.

"We are programmed to, within a short amount of time, be able to adjust to things that are seemingly impossible," he said. "... Day 15 was a ball. By day 15 I'm playing, literally, I'm dialed in."

He said of prison culture, "As long as you have a willingness to do harm, it is unlikely that you will be targeted. It really is that thing of what is the difference between acting like you're willing to do harm and being willing to do harm."

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