After 40 years of navigating superheroic highs and career-threatening lows, Robert Downey Jr. celebrated his 1st Oscar win Sunday night, winning best supporting actor for Christopher Nolan’s true-life atomic bomb thriller “Oppenheimer.”
“I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the Academy, in that order,” Downey cracked joke when he took the stage to received his Oscar. Of “Oppenheimer,” he said: “Here’s my little secret, I needed this job more than it needed me. It was fantastic and I stand here a better man because of it.”
Downey included: “What we do is meaningful and the things we decide to make is important.”
The 3rd time was the charm for Downey, 58, previously nominated for “Chaplin” and “Tropic Thunder.” His victory for “Oppenheimer,” though, was fairly predictable, having run the table with wins at the Golden Globe, Critics Choice, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild awards ceremonies.
Others leaned more humble this awards season, but that’s not Downey’s style. He conquered his Academy Awards quest in his own inimitable way: “Why me? Why now? Why do stuffs looked like to be going my way?” Downey questioned, playfully smirking, during his SAG acceptance speech. “Unlike my fellow nominees, I will never grow tired from the sound of my own voice.”
Oscar is a cherry on the banana split of Downey’s storied career – an extra bit of gravy on the Gen X icon’s loaded mashed potatoes. Armed with massive box-office receipts and a spate of memorable roles, he didn’t need that 8-pound trophy to make him a Hollywood legend. It is meaningful, though, because it’s another celebration for a comeback children who once was on the brink.