Robert Downey Jr. Discusses His Dad Giving Him Drugs as a Kid in New Documentary

Devon Forward
·2 min read
2

Robert Downey Sr. recalled the 'terrible, stupid mistake' in an old interview.

The new Netflix documentary, Sr., which came out on Nov. 18, is all about Robert Downey Jr.'s father, the late Robert Downey Sr., and the ups and downs of the filmmaker's life.

The film is an honest depiction of Downey Sr.'s life, including his struggles with addiction and how Downey Jr. followed in his footsteps.

One detail shared in the documentary is the fact that Downey Sr. introduced his son to drugs at the age of six, when he gave his son a joint to smoke.

The movie features footage of the father and son from the 1990s, when Downey Sr. said, "A lot of us did things and thought it would be hypocritical to not have our kids participate in marijuana and stuff like that. So we thought it was cute to let them smoke. It was an idiot move on our parts, a lot of us, to share that with our children."

Downey Sr. then says of his son, "I’m just happy he’s here, that's all." 

The late filmmaker confirmed this story in a Vanity Fair interview from 2000, while Downey Jr. was in prison at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison.

He shared that he said to a 6-year-old Downey Jr., "'You know, you ought to try a little of this instead of drinking.’ I passed him a joint. And suddenly I knew I had made a terrible, stupid mistake." 

"I’ll never forgive myself, but Robert and I have dealt with it, and he’s said to me, ‘I’m not a victim, Dad. I don’t blame anybody,’” Downey Sr. continued.

Both Downey Sr. and his son had struggles with addiction, and in the documentary, the Iron Man actor even brings it up in a phone call with his father, saying, "You know, I think we would be remiss to not discuss its effect on me," to which his father responds, "Boy, I could sure love to miss that discussion."

Luckily, both men came out on the other side and talked about addiction openly.

Downey Jr. says himself in the new film, "It was just playing a game of wanting to self-soothe or stay loaded, rather than deal with the fact that things had gone off the tracks a little bit. More than anything, I look back and go, 'It's shocking that a single film came out finished.' But that didn't stop we Downeys."