I am an 80’s kid, so obviously I’m a fan of Robert Downey Jr. If you grew up in the 80’s you couldn’t help, but like the guy. He played cocky and edgy roles in teen movies for the greater part of a decade. Unfortunately drugs got the best of him for a while, but now he is kicking butt again. His performance as Tony Stark in “Iron Man” is simply brilliant!
[Robert Downey Jr makes this movie. He is super cocky and cool, NOT modest like other super heroes. I was blown away by how clever this movie was put together. You guys have to see this!]
Robert Downey Jr Made a Few Bad Choices
The first movie I remember Downey Jr. in was “Weird Science”. This was a classic 80’s teen movie and he was a villain in the movie. Soon after that he played a drug addict in “Less Than Zero”…this was actually one of my favorite 80’s movies. I guess I liked the music, the clothes and the style of the whole movie. He had many other notable movies the next few years and even got an Oscar nomination for playing Charlie Chaplin in the movie “Chaplin”. His drug habit got the best of him from 1996-2001. He was in trouble with the law several times and had a serious drug problem. He even told a judge, “It’s like I have a loaded gun in my mouth and my finger’s on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gunmetal”.
Robert Downey Jr Is Offered The Leading Role in Iron Man
Many people questioned this choice until the movie was released. The director said that “Downey Jr. would be to Iron Man what Johnny Depp is to Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy”. That is a huge goal, but it was reached in my opinion. As a matter of fact, I can’t picture anyone else pulling off the role of Tony Stark. The same could be said of Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. No doubt that Robert Downey Jr. is back on top again!
At The Age of 43, He Gets in the Best Shape of His Life
Downey Jr. has never been extremely obese or anything, but has typically been “skinny fat”. He has had no muscle tone at all and a slim to average size, but all fat. His face got pretty pudgy in his past few roles. Nothing extreme, but he was letting himself go like so many other middle-aged men and women. He was trained by a trainer named Brad Bose. Brad’s Philosophy is to help people get strong and lean without “getting beefy”. Sound familiar?
Downey Gained 20 Pounds of Muscle While Losing Fat
He did put on 20 pounds of muscle, but in case he probably needed it. I’m not against muscle gain if it looks like a “natural” amount of muscle. In his case he still looks very slim and can wear nice clothes, etc. He lost quite a bit of fat as well, so his dimensions were probably smaller than when he began. One of the big things Downey concentrated on was a device called the “Jacobs Ladder”. Imagine a cardio machine that is basically a ladder that you climb in place. It is crazy. Just imagine how many muscles that would work. What a great workout.
It is Great to Hear Success Stories Like This!
So many people “kick people when they are down”…I try my best to avoid that way of thinking. I think that many people enjoy seeing others when they are miserable. I think maybe it makes them rationalize their own shortcomings -or- it could be a bit of jealousy. Let’s instead try to celebrate it when people overcome tough odds and make great progress. If there is one thing to learn from Robert Downey Jr. is that “every dog has his day”. Persistence pays off!
A friend directed me to your site where I read the comments about Me training Robert Downey for Iron Man. Re: “Brad’s Philosophy is to help people get strong and lean without “getting beefy”. Sound familiar?”
I assume it is also your philosophy. You see I’m not only well educated … I have been an athlete all my life from playing football to wrestling on the US team. I also do martial arts and believe that building muscle size should be a side effect of building strong muscles not a goal in itself. Believe it or not there is some intelligent design to training but I started as a strength and conditioning coach on a professional level so I kinda know how to get those kind of results.
I also keep up with the industry by reading research, understanding it and applying it.
I hope this gives your readers a more accurate insight into “my philosophy”. B
DownSouth,
I can’t wait for part II! This is really is a great movie. I was bummed when it ended, but it did end well at the press conference (I won’t give it away).
Tesa,
Yep…Downey is perfect for this role and I hope he gets roles in other movies now. I like his personality.
Rusty
He looked absolutely wonderful! I think that he’ll act as an inspiration to older people out there who think that they can’t possibly get in shape at their age. What a babe:)
Ironman was my favorite super hero growin’ up so I was scared this movie would suck, but I only feared for that plot-wise and with the other actors. I never doubted Downey for the part of Tony Stark, because anyone who knows that character knows you need a shit load of charisma and a real cocky attitude that falls short of being offensive. What I really like about Downey that I think lends to it all is his super sarcastic sense of humor. I thought he was great in it, and he’s about to be in the shitty new Hulk movie so I look forward to seeing him on bootleg in the next few weeks.
But what I was really surprised about was his physique. You really didn’t get to see it until about halfway through the movie when he was testing out his rocket boots and all that but he looked hard and strong. Looks like he’s put it all behind him and he’s made his mark again. Can’t wait to see more.
I really like Robert Downey, Jr. Im glad to hear he is in the best shape of his life. You know, we’ve had made bad choices/decisions in our past. It is good that he he learned from his bad decisions. It shows us that none of us are perfect and we can all improve ourselves. Im an 80’s kid also so all of this brings back some good memories. Thanks for the post, Rusty! (:
Jeff,
Thanks for the compliment! Yeah…I’m in better shape now then I was when I was 20. It is great to know that we can improve with age.
Hulbs,
Lost Boys II is coming out soon…with both of the “Corey’s” in it! Should be interesting. I loved the first one!
Rusty
I know exactly what you mean re. those 80’s flicks in how they made you feel, compared to the current crop of flicks. I have a simlar view.
Those flicks you listed are classics! I particularily love The BC, FB Day Off, and Weird Science but they are all really cool.
I also love The Lost Boys, Stand by me and The Goonies all from the 80’s!
cheers
I
Rusty, Gotta love John Hughes flicks…I think everyone on this site would agree we’re still in the dark ages when it comes to human potential. I’m pushing 38 and I’m definitely in better shape now than I was 20 years ago thanks to sites like this.
Mike,
I’m glad to see others lift people up as well…you do a great job of that on your site. It is so easy to come up with clever ways to “rip” on people…it feels better to find the good in people. Dang…I don’t want to get all PMA on everyone here.
Jennifer,
I LOVED Kelly LeBrock back then. I must add a Weird Science clip!
[Here are a bunch of clips set to Depeche Mode. A good 80’s music and movie combo!]
Helder,
Yeah…I’m just a few years younger than Robert Downey Jr, so I love seeing this stuff.
Mark,
I’m usually not a Gwyneth Paltrow fan, but she did an amazing job. I can’t imagine someone else playing that part.
John,
I didn’t know the guy from Swingers directed this. I really love the movie Swingers!
[“You’re so Money and You Don’t Even Know It!” This is one of my favorite movie scenes off all time. Warning: A little bit of swearing for those who get easily offended.]
AA,
I’m with you on this one. I’m just about 40, so that will be a goal of mine for sure. Good call!
Hulbs,
I’m a bit biased since I grew up in the 80’s, but those movies told better stories than the current teen movies. John Hughes was a brilliant director. All of his movies make me happy in a way that is hard to describe. Here are some of my favorites out of the movies he directed:
Vacation
Sixteen Candles
The Breakfast Club
Weird Science
Pretty in Pink
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Some Kind of Wonderful
Planes Trains and Automobiles
The Great Outdoors
Amazing! He actually wrote all of these as well!
Gators,
That is cool. Did you see Iron Man? Even if you don’t like Robert Downey Jr you may still enjoy this movie.
Fred,
I haven’t read about Clarence Bass for over 20 years. It is nice to see he still is in amazing shape. He probably has the most ripped ab shot I have ever seen.
http://www.cbass.com/PERSONAL…ClarenceBass
David,
His face looks a lot better too. Getting in great shape does wonders for people appearance.
Rusty
Hey Rusty,
When I saw Iron Man I totally noticed Robert Downey Jr. was in great shape. And he didn’t look bulkey. His shoulders looked bigger and the rest of his body just looked lean giving him the much wanted ‘V’ shape.
He was on a British talk show the night I watched the movie. The host commented on his body to which Robert replied “I know I’m old, so for this movie I decided not to be old and skinny”. He also mentioned that he has been doing a form of martial arts for the last few years.
I was born in the ’80’s but I do remember him from Weird Science, which is such a classic.
If you want to see what can be acomplished check out Charles Bass’ website cbass.com he just put his most recent photos at 70! he is still very impressive.
Iron man is a great movie! I too grew up in the 80’s and agree RD jr is stellar actor.
Never been a huge Downey Jr fan but it’s always good to see people face their demons and come out the other side a better person. Good on him….
Hi Rusty,
I was also 80’s kid and have a brother 3 years older so I often got to tag along with him and go and see all the cool 80’s teen flicks like weird science, the breakfast club etc etc. RDJ seemed to be in every other cool flcik back then.
I must see Iron Man and can’t wait to see the shape that RDJ got into.
I only recently saw 300 and loved it. It really added something to the movie having all the acters in awesome shape.
I’ve also liked the actor David Wenham but to see him like that was cool.
CHeers
Hulbs
A lot of people are starting to realize that you can transform yourself physically, even if you are over 40 or 50. Gone is the era of the bloated Elvis or Marlon Brando. People like Robert Downey Jr are shining examples of what can quite easily be achieved. Everyone over 40 should strive to be in better shape at 50 than they were at 25.
Rusty,
I was just watching Robert on Letterman a few nights and ago and the guy is looking sharp! He’s always been a little guy, but I thought one his best was St Elmos Fire!! ha.. What a blast from the past huh.. He’s a good guy, sounds like he’s cleaned up his druggy “head in the gutter” mentality and the guys looking great and feeling good as well.. I’ve always like his wit and happy-go-lucky personality.. Seems like a lot of fun to be around (I guess when you’re a party animal/boozehound you learn how to have a good time) & he smiles constantly.. Great energy!.. But, this is a nice role for a rebounding career and the fact that Mikey from Swingers directed it, makes me like it even more! Downy Jr.’s showing a little cut and his arms and upper chest.. Very nice addition to his earlier weaker “skinny pudgy” physique.. Goes to show you all it takes is cardio and quality eating to carve out a good physique.. Downy Jr. didnt’ hit the weights or calories viciously hard like a bodybuilder and he took a lathargic frame and cut it up with athletic muscle.. Most people overdo their efforts to put on muscle, but the Downy Jr. shows here that with a slight cut in body fat you actually look more muscular and deceivingly bigger (as you’ll see on screen).. Nice compliments Rusty on a hopeful box office hit screen star..
John Fit.. (Downy Jr.’s personality is something to learn from well.. Very relaxed and confident.. Very honest.. Brutally at times, but you can’t deny that honesty garners respect..)
Loved Iron Man. Always been a Robert Downey Jr. fan. He has struggled with his personal demons and looks like he may have finally put them behind him.
Can’t wait for the sequel. Gwyneth Paltrow was fabulous as well!
I’m glad to know that Robert Downey Jr is in good shape now, and i hope that the drug problems are totally left behind. One thing is for sure, it’s never late to get in good shape, a lot of people are starting to look better and feel better in their 30’s and 40’s than they’re in their 20’s. Fitness is something for Life, for any age, health and fitness are the way in any age.
I love the movie “Wierd Science”. I used to wish I looked like Kelly LeBrock (who plays the “dream girl” in the movie). I was just a little kid when I watched this movie, but even then I thought Robert Downey Jr. was hot!
Downey does look great in Iron Man. When he is hammering away and building the suit his arms look really toned. He is a hot man, and its great to see that he is probably off the drugs and working out hard.
“I think that many people enjoy seeing others when they are miserable. I think maybe it makes them rationalize their own shortcomings -or- it could be a bit of jealousy. Let’s instead try to celebrate it when people overcome tough odds and make great progress.”
Well said Rusty….as a wiser man than me probably said a long time ago…”Any fool can criticize…..but it takes someone with character to make an honest compliment”.