While nowadays Robert Downey Jr. is one of Hollywood’s most famous actors, namely for his tenure as the boldly-casted Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (although there had initially been pushback to him playing Tony Stark), there was a time when he was in the headline for less desirable reasons. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Downey struggled with drug addiction, was repeatedly arrested and even spent multiple stints in prison. Decades later, he’s gotten real about his time spent behind bars and even recalled an embarrassing moment he had after taking a shower during this period of his life.
For context, the actor was first sentenced to six months in the Los Angeles County jail in late 1997, and then he served nearly a year at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison across 1999 to 2000, although he’s originally been sentenced to three years. Downey recalled his prison time during his visit to Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard after the eponymous host inquired, starting with saying the following when he was asked how long he was in jail before he accepted the gravity of his situation:
