Out of the Cave: Robert Downey Jr. Talks Addiction and Passing Out

Everybody experiences highs and lows. But few people have ridden the roller coaster like actor Robert Downey Jr.

While things have been going (very) well on the career front for RDJ for years — he's topped Forbes's highest-earning actors list for the past two years — it wasn't so long ago that his future was anything but certain. Downey Jr. opened up about his past addictions and touched on quite a few of his lower moments in Vanity Fair's new cover story. 

Of his experience in state prison and treatment facilities for addiction, he spoke in a way that can't help remind Iron Man fans of Tony Stark's origin story. "Job one is get out of that cave. A lot of people do get out but don't change. So the thing is to get out and recognize the significance of that aggressive denial of your fate, come through the crucible forged into a stronger metal. Or whatever."

Comparing a terrifying (and real) problem like addiction to a plot from a comic book flick may sound odd, but Downey Jr. is conscious of the extreme differences. "It's funny: five years ago, I would've made it sound like I'm conscious of my own participation in seizing the similarities. But so many things have become less certain. I swear to God. I am not my story," he told the magazine.

One of his lowest moments came in 1996 when neighbors discovered him passed out in the bed of their 11-year-old son. On this, Downey Jr. says it was an "uncommon occurrence" that "happened to be a very public one. I was not a guy who blacked out." He was arrested following the incident.

RDJ's son Indio, 20, may have inherited some of his father's demons, the star said.  Indio was recently charged with felony drug possession. "Can you help someone get out of those woods? Yes, you can. By not getting lost looking for them."

The star took time to share a few lighter anecdotes. A well-known car collector, Downey Jr. recently added a new ride to his garage: A very un-Tony Stark Honda Odyssey minivan. He and his wife Susan are expecting a child. "I gotta be ready," he teased.

Downey's newest film, The Judge, also starring Robert Duvall, hits theaters this fall. The full interview is available in the October issue of Vanity Fair.