Robert John Downey Jr. is an American actor and singer. His career has included critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, and a resurgence of commercial success in middle age. For three consecutive years from 2012 to 2015, Downey topped the Forbes list of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors, making an estimated $80 million in earnings between June 2014 and June 2015. May his quotes inspire you to work hard to make your dreams a reality.
1. “Worrying is like praying for something that you don’t want to happen.” Robert Downey Jr.
2. “Listen, smile, agree and then do whatever you were gonna do anyway.” Robert Downey Jr.
3. “Do I want to be a hero to my son? No. I would like to be a very real human being. That’s hard enough.” Robert Downey Jr.
4. “Sometimes you just gotta be drop-kicked out of the nest.” Robert Downey Jr.
5. “The lesson is that you can still make mistakes and be forgiven.” Robert Downey Jr.
6. “I know very little about acting. I am just an incredibly gifted faker.” Robert Downey Jr.
7. “Look, even bad years are pretty good years, I think.” Robert Downey Jr.
8. “For years I took pride in being resilient.” Robert Downey Jr.
9. “It doesn’t matter whether or not you can act. If you can go into a room and make these sweaters want you, that’s what’ll get you the job.” Robert Downey Jr.
10. “You need to know what to do when the sun is not shining.” Robert Downey Jr.
11. “I think you end up doing the stuff you were supposed to do at the time you were supposed to do it.” Robert Downey Jr.
12. “I think that we all do heroic things, but hero is not a noun, it’s a verb.” Robert Downey Jr.
13. “I think life changes every year.” Robert Downey Jr.
14. “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.” Robert Downey Jr.
15. “I guess the issue for me is to keep things dynamic.” Robert Downey Jr.
16. “Acting is always a challenge.” Robert Downey Jr.
17. “I’m coming from a place of total strength and humility now.” Robert Downey Jr.
18. “I always think part of success is being able to replicate results, taking what is interesting or viable about yourself as a professional person and seeing if you bring it into different situations with similar results.” Robert Downey Jr.
19. “I always think part of success is being able to replicate results, taking what is interesting or viable about yourself as a professional person and seeing if you bring it into different situations with similar results.” Robert Downey Jr.
20. “With a terrible script, you hustle and try to make it better. But with a good script it can be trouble because you rest on your laurels, so to speak, you think it’s going to translate easily.” Robert Downey Jr.
21. “There are some parents who have really done it right and told their kid, You know, we have this dough, none of this is for you. You have to get your own.” Robert Downey Jr.
22. “All I want, and I think all any parent with a semblance of a moral psychology wants, is for my kid to have his own experience, uninhibited.” Robert Downey Jr.
23. “People never change because they are under threat or under duress. Never. They change because they see something that makes their life seem valuable enough to start moving toward a life worth living.” Robert Downey Jr.
24. “To me, friendship means loving tolerance.” Robert Downey Jr.
25. “Remember that just because you hit bottom doesn’t mean you have to stay there.” Robert Downey Jr.
26. “I don’t need an Iron Man suit.” Robert Downey Jr.
27. “I know who I am.” Robert Downey Jr.
28. “I am in the continual process of transcending fear. ” Robert Downey Jr.
29. “You have to let go of the things that are darling to you. You have to take the focus off yourself and put it on the shape of the scene and the intention of what everyone else needs.” Robert Downey Jr.
30. “Mediocrity is my biggest fear. I’m not afraid of total failure because I don’t think that will happen. I’m not afraid of success because that beats the hell out of failure. It’s being in the middle that scares me.” Robert Downey Jr.
31. “Nothing will serve you better than a strong work ethic. Nothing.” Robert Downey Jr.
32. “One must always be mindful.” Robert Downey Jr.
33. “I think it’s good to be confident. If I’m not on my team why should anybody else be?” Robert Downey Jr.
34. “The higher the stakes, the happier I am, the better I will be.” Robert Downey Jr.
35. “People rise out of the ashes because, at some point, they are invested with a belief in the possibility of triumph over seemingly impossible odds.” Robert Downey Jr.
36. “I have a sense of destiny that you are led to the things you are supposed to do.” Robert Downey Jr.
37. “Growing up is something that you do your whole life. I want to always feel that I can be a kid if I want.” Robert Downey Jr.
38. “Discipline for me is about respect. It’s not even about self-respect; it’s about respect for life and all it offers.” Robert Downey Jr.
39. “At the end of the day, anything I think I’m sacrificing I’m just giving up because it makes me feel better.” Robert Downey Jr.
40. “I used to be so convinced that happiness was the goal, yet all those years I was chasing after it I was unhappy in the pursuit. Maybe the goal really should be a life that values honor, duty, good work, friends, and family.” Robert Downey Jr.
Thanks for compiling this awesome list from Robert Downey Jr. He’s an inspiration to me, if you’re heard about his life story, how he overcame adversity, believed in himself and became one of the top most paid Hollywood star ever.
He’s living story is testimony that anyone can live a life they choose to as long as they do not give up on themselves. Thanks for sharing and I believe your compilation will add value to others.
You are right his life story has also inspired me. But I can’t believe how he has changed his mind and thanks for sharing this list even I am inspired
Glad you enjoyed the quotes Jay.
I agree. He is a great example of what we too can accomplish.
This is like how people would to be seem. Bout no one do , without less people. It inspired me and I think I would make my life not very simple as usual . From now I will challenging myself to be not a simple human , but a good human in my life. I will try it but never loose it.
Go for it.
To think that he was once a drug addicted criminal and now he is the 3rd highest earning box office actor. A true inspiration!
Never give up in life.