Robert Downey Jr. says it was for the best that he didn't win an Oscar back in the '90s
Robert Downey Jr. said on "The View" he's glad he didn't win the Oscar back in 1993.
Downey Jr. struggled with substance abuse early in his career but says he's been sober since 2003.
On Tuesday, he posted about his 2024 Oscar nomination for best supporting actor on Instagram.
Robert Downey Jr. thinks it's good that he didn't win the first time he was nominated for an Oscar in 1993.
"Because I was young and crazy, and it would've put me under the impression that I was on the right track," the actor said during an appearance on "The View."
Back then, Downey Jr. was nominated for best actor for his role in "Chaplin," but lost to Al Pacino, who won for his role in "Scent of a Woman."
In the years following his first Academy Awards nomination, Downey Jr. had numerous brushes with the law.
In 1999, he was sentenced to three years in prison for "repeatedly violating probation on drug and weapons charges," per LA Times.
He only served a year and was released on parole in 2000, per The New York Times.
In December 2015, the then-governor of California Jerry Brown pardoned the "Marvel" star of his 1996 conviction.
Downey Jr. has been sober since 2003 — when he was at a Burger King and decided to throw all his drugs into the ocean, he told The New York Times in 2008.
Earlier this week, Downey Jr. was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as Lewis Strauss in "Oppenheimer."
This is his third Oscar nomination: He was also nominated for best supporting actor in 2009 for "Tropic Thunder," but lost to Heath Ledger, who played the Joker in "The Dark Knight."
On Tuesday, Downey Jr. posted about the 13 Academy Award nominations that "Oppenheimer" received on Instagram: "It's been the honor of a lifetime to be part of the cinematic masterpiece that is Oppenheimer, and it's a privilege to be an Academy member nominated alongside such esteemed company."
Read the original article on Business Insider