Robert Downey

“I'm coming from a place of total strength and humility now.”

“But I will agree that I think that things happen with people in relationships, that you might have been able to enjoy Morocco, say, if you weren't getting out of a bad marriage. You know what I mean?”

“I've always just shown up and tried to figure out what's for lunch and am I going to get to play some racquetball that night.”

“I'm very good at deconstructing. I'm a very good troubleshooter for why something is unlikely to work. And most everything is unlikely to work.”

“I like mainstream movies that are completely off the wall.”

“Nothing pleases me more than when somebody who was awe-inspired to be working with me realizes I'm just another schmuck that they're bored of hanging out with on a set. I love that moment. I like it when that persistent illusion is smashed.”

“Acting is the most wildly overpaid position imaginable.”

“I walk by studio heads and they actually look and put their hand out now, like maybe I should be on their radar.”

“I've always been a fella who put most of my eggs in one basket and then take a dump in the basket but I really don't know.”

“When you have a good script you're almost in more trouble than when you have a terrible script.”

“Dad's Jewish and Irish, Mom's German and Scotch. I couldn't say I was anything. My last name isn't even Downey. My dad changed his name when he wanted to get into the Army and was underage. My real name is Robert Elias. I feel like I'm still looking for a home in some way.”

“Life is just so painful and messy and hard and worth it and all that stuff.”

“It's interesting when you're old enough to take a new, objective approach looking at your parents, frame them in a way where you are actually taking yourself out of the equation and just look at the things that are true about their life.”

“I think that the power is the principle. The principle of moving forward, as though you have the confidence to move forward, eventually gives you confidence when you look back and see what you've done.”

“I'm not particularly tall, strong, fast, or aggressive.”

“I was kind of like chasing my tail and trying to do the right thing, and was a little bit stupid. Or irresponsible, which is the same thing I guess. It's just been really busy and I had a lot of great opportunities.”

“Look, even bad years are pretty good years I think.”

“I guess the issue for me is to keep things dynamic.”

“If I could eat whatever I wanted every day, I would have Domino's pizza with pasta carbonara inside every slice. And at night, I would have Neapolitan ice cream until I felt absolutely toxic. And then I would drift off telling myself, 'It's going to be O.K... It's going to be O.K. you're going to train in the morning.'”

“I had this bad-boy-from-New York vibe going, dressed like a punk rocker with spiky hair.”