Renowned actor Robert Downey Jr recently made a candid appearance on the 'Armchair Expert' podcast hosted by his friend Dax Shepard. During the interview, the 'Iron Man' star delved into a topic he rarely discusses, the harrowing period he spent behind bars in the late '90s.
Before achieving sobriety and experiencing a career resurgence with Marvel, the now 58-year-old actor faced well-documented struggles with substance abuse, which ultimately led to a three-year prison sentence. He served one year before being released due to prior collective time served, and his conviction was later pardoned in 2015.
'Arguably the most dangerous place I have ever been'
On the latest podcast episode, fellow actor and pal Shepard asked the Oscar-nominated Downey about his time in prison, a subject the 'Sherlock Holmes' star does not usually address. However, it was clear from the start of the episode, that the two men are close and Downey felt comfortable being candid.
Questioned by Shepard about how long it took for him to fully grasp that he was in prison, Downey said he would share the "flash cards" with Shepard and co-host Monica Padman of that time. "I'm in court. I am being over-sentenced by an angry judge," Downey recalled. "Two weeks later, I am in a place called Delano, which is a receiving area where they decide where you're going to go: arguably the most dangerous place I have ever been in my life because no one is designated if they're a level 1, 2, 3 or 4 criminal."
He claimed, "You could just feel the evil in the air. There was no opportunity there. There were only threats." Downey, noting "this will be the best soundbite," added that during that time, he left his cell to take a shower and was so out of sorts, he did not notice his underwear was on backward. "I remember eliciting some strong chuckles and jeers from my fellow inmates," the actor said before he addressed Shepard's initial question.
Recalling that walking onto the prison yard for the first time was like "being sent to a distant planet where there is no way home until the planets align. But, the short answer [to the question] is two weeks," revealed The Messenger. "For me, there are worse things that could have happened than being sent to an institution, by far. By day 15, I'm dialed in. If you have the willingness to do harm, it is unlikely that you will be targeted."
