I don't think anyone wakes up one day and says, "You know today I think I am going to become a drug addict." Would anyone choose to become an addict? In an interview with Esquire, Robert Downey Jr says that he became an addict by accident and it really wasn't his fault. Apparently back in the day he had the flu or a cold and someone offered him some opium to help him with the symptoms. OK, full stop. At that point he should have said no. How do you say yes to taking opium and then say you became an addict by accident. If someone kept sneaking him opium without him realizing it that is one thing, but he knowingly took the opium.
"That first time it was opium. The second time it looked like opium. Looked the same, smelled the same, a little dirtier, not quite as pristine a buzz and by the time three weeks later, when I woke up, thought I had the flu and took a hit on it, I looked up and said, 'Great. So now we're junkies. This is f**king great."
I don't know who the we is that he is referring to. I will give him all the credit in the world for battling his addictions everyday. I never thought he would be able to pull himself out of his hole. I think what helped him is that he is such a great actor so people wanted to hire him and give him work and give him something to do and believed in his talent. So, even when he was in jail he had hope.
I don't know if it was his first time, but RDJ's said in the past that by age 8 "he already had used drugs with his filmmaker father." (I remembered this from years ago, but it was repeated recently in the Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/16/robert-downey-jr-on-datin_n_97012.html)
ReplyDeleteHe is a great actor, and I agree that he had hope and people who believed in him. At the end of the day, addiction is something you have to beat on your own, but a helping hand and a reason to get clean can make all the difference.
I can't believe he managed to get off the stuff when he can't admit to being fully responsible for becoming an addict. It just seems odd and illogical that you can't take some responsibility for your actions, and fully recover.
ReplyDeleteOh well. At least he's living for himself and not for the drugs. Kudos.
I remember when he was always getting into trouble because of his drug usage and I really thought we might lose him to addiction. I'm so glad he pulled through. I myself have been clean and sober for 10 years so I know what it takes and I hope he has a great support group like I do.
ReplyDeleteKudos to you MizCaramel! I've had issues myself with certain substances and considered myself really lucky I was able to step away from it.
ReplyDeleteAs for RDJ, he is sadly, in the minority of celebs who've been able to beat that kind of addiction and bounce back.
congrats MizCaramel, that's a great milestone :)
ReplyDeletei'd say the only person who would get a drug addiction on purpose would be Bale for a movie part, lol.
i like RDJ and hope he continues down the clean and sober path regardless of how he got to be a junkie in the first place
accountability--you're doing it wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I would hear of his drug abuse I would remember that scene in LESS THAN ZERO where he is giving head to the drug dealer for coke and found it foreshadowing his life.
ReplyDeleteAs much as we slag on Lindsay, looking at people like RDJ shows you can hit rock-bottom with drugs and your career and still make a comeback.
ReplyDeleteLove RDJ - it's up to you, Lindsay!
Montana, thought he already was hooked on drugs during the time of Less Than Zero??
ReplyDeleteYou know I read that a lot of people think of him as a great actor but I do not see it. What am I Missing? Is it cause I don't like him LOL.
MizCaramel, all the best to you! My ex fiance couldn't shake it. Broke 7 yrs sobriety. I am not an addict but it has to be one thorny crazy thing that people give up children, family, jobs and everything they have for it. I, too, thought we'd lose RJDJr and glad we haven't. But concerned about some blinds that seem like they could be him.
ReplyDeleteRDJ is totally the shiz-nit and I think he is an amazing actor. I loved Less Than Zero and I think his life took that darker turn (head for drugs) shortly thereafter, even if he was into drugs at the time of the movie.
ReplyDeletefor the sake of his life and health, i am happy that he continues the good fight against addiction.
ReplyDeletelike Sylvia, as far as him being a "great actor" i just don't see it either.
@ Empyrios, "i'd say the only person who would get a drug addiction on purpose would be Bale for a movie part..." I believe you are right about that. He is a weird dude.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't know about being offered opium to get over the flu. Personally, I might say no to something like that....but, if you had an addictive personality, and you were curious about a particular drug, any excuse will do. I really like RDJ and I'm glad he managed to get clean and get his career back on track. I think the difference between him and LiLo though, is one little word: talent.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I worked with addicts and they all thought they could handle their drug of choice until one day they woke up and it was all about scoring $$$ to score drugs.
ReplyDeleteRDJ getting clean wasn't about what a good actor he is. he's a totally charming, nice guy and had a lot of people who loved him. they never gave up on him no matter what.
ReplyDeletethe people who helped him didn't do it so he could act and they could hire him---they wanted him to live. i think those are very different things.
Nancer - Totally agree with your assessment. Lilo is surrounded by users and is a user of others, making for a much bleaker future. Unless she decided to stay in India and become Mother Lilo.
ReplyDeleteDon't get how opium could help a cold or flu??
ReplyDeleteBut I LOVE RDJ and plan to see Sherlock Holmes on opening day--Christmas. I will just have to suffer through Scuzzy Dude as his sidekick.
OPIUM for the flu? That's like saying you burned down the house because you didn't like your wallpaper.
ReplyDeleteGood for him staying clean.
Miz Caramel that's awesome. You deserve a great deal of credit.
I'm not so sure about opium for flu . . . but like Harriet said earlier, any excuse will do. I went through and came out the other side of a narcotics addiction myself. I don't know that I ever hit "rock bottom", but I know for sure that I didn't like who or where I was. Mine started out as normal prescription use, only my doctor didn't properly take me off, and I went crazy with that on my own after that. I don't blame her, but I was a dumb kid and needed someone to tell me what end was up. In two days, I'll be happy to say that I've been 5 years off.
ReplyDeleteDon't know why I said all that . . . but to say I love RDJ and good on him! I'm sure the pressure is really great in Hollywood, and I can't even imagine how easy it would be to backslide there.
RDJ had/has more luck than every one in earth and also very good friends!
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