Robert Downey Jr. on Feb. 9, 2024.Photo:Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Robert Downey Jr.is dishing on jobs he held long before becoming a movie star.
TheOppenheimeractor, 58,received the Maltin Modern Master Awardat the 2024Santa Barbara International Film Festivalon Friday. During a conversation with film critic Leonard Maltin at the event, Downey reflected on whether he ever considered any career paths outside acting.
“Well, I worked at a sandwich shop. I worked at a shoe store, but I had sticky fingers and I got fired after two weeks,” he said. “This is before those closed-circuit cameras where they monitor who might be sitting. … I was not very good at it.”
“And I worked in clubs and I worked at Thrifty’s in Santa Monica,” he added. “I made it to busboy, but I didn’t really have the panache to be a waiter, I was told, so I had to resort to theater.”
Downey grew up in and around the entertainment industry as the son of directorRobert Downey Sr., whodied at 85in 2021.
As critic Maltin noted during the pair’s conversation Friday, Downey made his onscreen debut at 5 years old with an appearance in his father’s 1970 moviePound, still years before he broke out in the 1980s and later reinvented himself.
Robert Downey Jr. on Feb. 9, 2024.Tibrina Hobson/Getty
Tibrina Hobson/Getty
“Yeah, I think this is what I was supposed to do,” Downey said, after Maltin asked him whether he felt he owes his career’s successes to “destiny.”
The accolade Downey received at the film festival is named after Maltin; it was first created in 1995 “to honor an individual who has enriched our culture through accomplishments in the motion picture industry," according to the film festival.
Friday’s event featured Downey’s longtime friendRob Loweand hisOppenheimercostarCillian Murphyshowering him with praise in speeches.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Rob Lowe on Feb. 9, 2024.Rebecca Sapp/Getty
Rebecca Sapp/Getty
Maltin and Downey covered a range of topics from his five-decade career, including his past Oscar nominations for 1992’sChaplin, 2008’sTropic Thunderand his latest role as Lewis Strauss inOppenheimer, for which he is nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the upcomingAcademy Awards on March 10.
Murphy is also nominated for Best Actor for playingOppenheimer’s title character. The film as a whole received13 total nominationsat the upcoming Oscars.
source: people.com
