At the 2024 Academy Awards, just about everyone knew that Robert Downey Jr. would win Best Supporting Actor for his turn in Oppenheimer—and cap it off with a damn good acceptance speech. From the podium, Downey Jr. told his wife, Susan, "You loved me back to life," But for Susan, Downey Jr.'s arrival in her life was just as important.
"Everybody loves the simple narrative of somehow I came in and turned his life around and blah, blah, blah," she told US Esquire in their latest cover story, which features Downey Jr. “But I can tell you that I would never be who I am without him in my life. His trajectory is just the easier one to chart because he’s had to live his ups and downs in public. When we met, we were fortunate that he was in a place where he was open to do things differently than he had historically. But you know what? So was I."
When Downey Jr. landed the starring role in 2008's Iron Man—a superhero film that would begin a massively successful cinematic universe for the next 16 years and counting—the couple was already three years into their marriage. The Marvel star's struggles with drug addiction was long in the rearview mirror. "It’s beyond us being two humans who cohabitate and have built a life together," Downey Jr. said in his Esquire interview. "There’s something about her that remains almost entirely a mystery. I still—I’ll see her across the kitchen and study her as though I’m a private investigator. And I’m not looking for some hidden motive. It’s just... she’s a full-length mirror."
Thankfully, Downey Jr. never lost his brilliant sense of humour. At the Oscars, Jimmy Kimmel opened the show with a crack at the movie star, referring to the "highest points" of his career. From the audience, Downey Jr. signalled for Kimmel to move to the next bit. He knows the business—and he's a good sport. "I don’t care," Downey Jr. told Esquire of the moment. "I love Jimmy Kimmel. I think he’s a national treasure... I was just trying to hold my mud."
Josh Rosenberg is an Assistant Editor at Esquire, keeping a steady diet of one movie a day. His past work can be found at Spin, CBR, and on his personal blog at Roseandblog.com.
