Robert Downey Jr. He won his first Oscar for the movie ‘Oppenheimer’ – Chicago Tribune

Thirty years after receiving his first Academy Award nomination, Robert Downey Jr. won his first award. Oscar.

Downey won Best Supporting Actor on Sunday for his portrayal of Rear Admiral Lewis Strauss. “Oppenheimer.” It was hailed as one of Downey’s best performances in years.

It was the third career Oscar nomination for a veteran actor who is known as one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors but had never won an Academy Award until Sunday. He was nominated for the best actor award for the movie “Chaplin” in 1993, and for the best supporting actor award for the movie “Tropic Thunder” in 2008.

Christopher Nolan’s II. “Oppenheimer,” his three-hour in-depth examination of the development and fallout of the atomic bomb during World War II, led the Academy Awards with 13 nominations.

Downey defeated Sterling K. Brown “American Fiction” Replaces Ryan Gosling “Barbie,” for Mark Ruffalo “Poor Things” and Robert De Niro “The Killers of the Flower Moon.”

The win solidified Downey’s status as a frontrunner this awards season. He was also awarded the grand prize in the supporting actor category at the Golden Globes, BAFTA Film Awards, SAG Awards and Critics’ Choice Awards.

“Why me? Why now? Why do things seem to be going my way?” he said while accepting the SAG Award.

Downey has spoken openly about his past struggles with drug addiction. In his 2022 documentary “Sr.”, which pays tribute to his father, the filmmaker revealed that he became addicted to drugs at the age of 8.

Downey’s first Oscar nomination 30 years ago, when he was 28, was followed by a series of arrests and a year in prison on drug-related charges.

The actor recently said he was grateful he didn’t win in 1993.

“I was young and crazy,” he said on The View. “That would give me the impression that I was on the right track.”