Editing Robert Downey Jr. (section)

===1996–2001: Addiction-related setbacks and ''Ally McBeal''===
From 1996 through 2001, Downey was arrested several times on charges related to drugs, including [[cocaine]], [[heroin]], and marijuana.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,98373,00.html |title=Will Robert Downey Jr.'s Case Spark a Change in Drug Sentencing? |magazine=Time |last=Reaves |first=Jessica |access-date=May 1, 2008 |date=February 7, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826172534/http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,98373,00.html |archive-date=August 26, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> He went through drug treatment programs and spent time in county jail and prison. He explained in 1999 to a judge: "It's like I have a shotgun in my mouth, and I've got my finger on the trigger, and I like the taste of the [[Gunmetal|gun metal]]." He said he had been addicted to drugs since the age of eight due to the fact that his father had been giving them to him.<ref name="bbc jail">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/413283.stm |title=Addicted Downey Jnr jailed |work=BBC News |access-date=May 1, 2008 |date=August 6, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330114926/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/413283.stm |archive-date=March 30, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In early 1996, after becoming increasingly concerned for Downey, [[Sean Penn]] and [[Dennis Quaid]] knocked on his door, took his keys, and took him to a rehab center in [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]]; however, Downey escaped and checked himself out a few days later.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> In June 1996, Downey was arrested for possession of heroin, cocaine, [[crack cocaine]], and an unloaded [[.357 Magnum]] handgun while he was speeding down [[Sunset Boulevard]]. A month later, while on parole, he wandered into a neighbor's home through the unlocked front door while under the influence of a controlled substance and fell asleep in one of the beds.<ref name="carrtimes">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=1&ref=movies&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin |title=Been Up, Been Down. Now? Super. |work=The New York Times |last=Carr |first=David |access-date=May 1, 2008 |date=April 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525000357/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html?_r=1&ref=movies&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin |archive-date=May 25, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1731600-2,00.html |title=Robert Downey Jr.: Back from the Brink |magazine=Time |last=Winters Keegan |first=Rebecca |access-date=May 1, 2008 |date=April 16, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118135333/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1731600-2,00.html |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The family refused to press trespassing charges.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |date=August 1, 2000 |title=Robert Downey Jr. Speaks From Prison |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2000/08/robert-downey-jr-prison |access-date=March 8, 2024 |magazine=Vanity Fair |archive-date=March 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329131535/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2000/08/robert-downey-jr-prison |url-status=live }}</ref> The tape of the neighbor's 911 call was made available online, and it became known as the "Goldilocks incident".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The star who came back from the depths {{!}} Robert Downey Jr {{!}} The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/24/robertdowneyjr.usa |access-date=March 8, 2024 |website=amp.theguardian.com |date=August 23, 2008 |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308055522/https://amp.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/24/robertdowneyjr.usa |url-status=live }}</ref> In November 1996, after spending time in court-ordered rehab, he received a further six months of live-in rehab, three years' probation, and was ordered to undergo compulsory drug testing.<ref name=":1" /> In 1997, he missed one of the court-ordered drug tests and had to spend six months in the Los Angeles County jail.<ref>{{cite web|first=Robert W.|last=Welkos|title=Actor Robert Downey Jr. Given 6-Month Jail Term|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-09-me-62196-story.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=July 10, 2014|date=December 9, 1997|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714224120/http://articles.latimes.com/1997/dec/09/local/me-62196|archive-date=July 14, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> After being released, he went into a court-ordered 120-day rehab program.<ref name=":1" />

{{multiple image
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 | width = 125
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 | image1 = Actor Robert Downey Jr. photographed by the California Department of Corrections.jpg
 | alt1 = A mugshot of actor Robert Downey Jr smiling for his headshot in 1999
 | caption1 = Mugshot from his arrest in August 1999
 | image2 = Rdowneymug2.jpg
 | alt2 = A mugshot of actor Robert Downey Jr in 2001
 | caption2 = Mugshot from his arrest in April 2001
}}

In 1999, after being clean during the shooting of ''[[Wonder Boys (film)|Wonder Boys]]'', Downey relapsed. During this time, he was struggling with legal bills and had lost his house in Malibu.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> After Downey missed another required drug test in 1999, he was arrested again. Despite Downey's lawyer, [[Robert Shapiro (lawyer)|Robert Shapiro]], assembling the same team of lawyers that had successfully defended [[O. J. Simpson]] during his [[O. J. Simpson murder case|criminal trial for murder]],<ref name="bbc jail" /> Downey was sentenced to a three-year prison term at the [[California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison]] in [[Corcoran, California]].<ref name=":2" /> At the time of the arrest, all of Downey's film projects had wrapped and were close to release. He had been hired to provide the voice of the [[devil]] on the [[NBC]] animated television series ''[[God, the Devil and Bob]]'', but was fired when he failed to attend rehearsals.<ref name=":2">{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/1999/film/news/downey-gets-3-yr-prison-term-for-parole-violations-1117750121/ |title=Downey gets 3-year prison term for parole violations |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |last=Ault |first=Susanne |access-date=August 8, 2008 |date=August 6, 1999 |archive-date=September 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908061612/http://variety.com/1999/film/news/downey-gets-3-yr-prison-term-for-parole-violations-1117750121/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/375887.stm |title=Downey Jr back in jail |work=BBC News |access-date=August 8, 2008 |date=July 23, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021108122740/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/375887.stm |archive-date=November 8, 2002 |url-status=live }}</ref>

After spending nearly a year in the [[California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran|California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison]], Downey, on condition of posting a $5,000 bail, was unexpectedly freed when a judge ruled that his collective time in incarceration facilities (from the initial 1996 arrests) had qualified him for early release.<ref name="toughest"/> A week after his 2000 release, Downey joined the cast of the hit television series ''[[Ally McBeal]]'', playing a new love interest.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/875828.stm |title=Downey Jr lands McBeal role |work=BBC News |access-date=May 1, 2008 |date=August 11, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330113511/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/875828.stm |archive-date=March 30, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was nominated for the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series]] and won the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/bada-bing-sopranos-leads-emmy-pack |title=Bada Bing! Sopranos Leads Emmy Pack |work=Fox News Channel |access-date=May 1, 2008 |date=July 12, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604005442/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,29375,00.html |archive-date=June 4, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1091051.stm |title=Downey Jr's Golden acting career |work=BBC News |access-date=May 1, 2008 |date=January 22, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330113204/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1091051.stm |archive-date=March 30, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> He also appeared as a writer and singer on [[Vonda Shepard]]'s ''Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life'' album and sang with [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] a duet of "[[Every Breath You Take]]" in an episode of the series. Despite the apparent success, Downey claimed that his performance on the series was overrated and said, "It was my lowest point in terms of addictions. At that stage, I didn't give a fuck whether I ever acted again."<ref name="skin deep" /> In January 2001, Downey was scheduled to play the role of [[Prince Hamlet|Hamlet]] in a [[Los Angeles]] stage production directed by [[Mel Gibson]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/935383.stm|title=Gibson Downey Jr becomes Hamlet|work=BBC News|date=September 21, 2000|access-date=June 1, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115082537/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/935383.stm|archive-date=January 15, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

Before the end of his first season on ''Ally McBeal'', Downey was arrested on [[Thanksgiving]] in 2000, when his room at [[Merv Griffin]]'s Hotel and Givenchy Spa in [[Palm Springs, California]], was searched by the police, who were responding to an anonymous 911 call. Downey was under the influence of a controlled substance and in possession of cocaine and [[valium]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07E0D6113BF934A25754C0A9679C8B63 |title=Boldface Names |last=Baron |first=James |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 1, 2008 |date=July 17, 2001 |archive-date=November 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123202900/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/17/nyregion/boldface-names-279722.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2001/04/24/robert-downey-jr-arrested-la/|title=Robert Downey Jr. arrested in L.A.|last=Angulo|first=Sandra P.|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=October 2, 2019|date=April 24, 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020140606/https://ew.com/article/2001/04/24/robert-downey-jr-arrested-la/|archive-date=October 20, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' later ran a six-page investigation into the weekend's events.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> Despite the fact that, if convicted, he would have faced a prison sentence of up to four years and eight months, he signed on to appear in at least eight more ''Ally McBeal'' episodes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1171634.stm |title=Downey Jr signs McBeal deal |work=BBC News |access-date=May 11, 2008 |date=February 15, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330120605/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1171634.stm |archive-date=March 30, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In April 2001, while Downey was on parole, a Los Angeles police officer found him wandering barefoot in [[Culver City]]. He was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs but was released a few hours later,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/robert-downey-jr-fired-from-ally-mcbeal-after-another-arrest |title=Robert Downey Jr. Fired From Ally McBeal After Another Arrest |agency=Associated Press |work=Fox News Channel |access-date=May 11, 2008 |date=April 25, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003025020/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,15876,00.html |archive-date=October 3, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> even though tests showed he had cocaine in his system.<ref name="wired drug">{{cite news |url=https://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/news/2001/05/44194 |title=Robert Downey Jr.'s Drug 'Deal' |agency=Reuters |work=[[Wired (website)|Wired]] |access-date=May 11, 2008 |date=May 31, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110195743/http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/news/2001/05/44194 |archive-date=January 10, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> After this last arrest, ''Ally McBeal'' executives ordered last-minute rewrites and reshoots and fired Downey, despite the fact that Downey's character had resuscitated ''Ally McBeal''{{'}}s ratings.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/business/this-season-to-be-last-for-ally-mcbeal.html?scp=1&sq=%20%22This%20Season%20to%20Be%20Last%20for%20%27Ally%20McBeal&st=cse |title=This Season to Be Last for 'Ally McBeal' |last=Carter |first=Bill |work=The New York Times |access-date=September 9, 2010 |date=April 18, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525000609/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/18/business/this-season-to-be-last-for-ally-mcbeal.html?scp=1&sq=%20%22This%20Season%20to%20Be%20Last%20for%20%27Ally%20McBeal&st=cse |archive-date=May 25, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Culver City arrest also cost him a role in the high-profile film ''[[America's Sweethearts]]'',<ref name="wired drug" /> and the subsequent incarceration prompted Gibson to cancel his ''Hamlet'' production. In July 2001, Downey pleaded [[Nolo contendere|no contest]] to the Palm Springs charges, avoiding jail time. Instead, he was sent into drug rehabilitation and received three years of probation, benefiting from [[California Proposition 36 (2000)|California Proposition 36]], which had been passed the year before with the aim of helping nonviolent drug offenders overcome their addictions instead of sending them to jail.<ref name="toughest" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/se/date/2001-07-16/segment/03 |title=Robert Downey Jr. to Enter Plea Agreement on Drug Charges |work=CNN |access-date=May 11, 2008 |date=July 16, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110111727/http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0107/16/se.03.html |archive-date=January 10, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> Downey spent a year at the court-ordered drug-treatment facility. By this time, Downey was homeless, too much of an insurance liability to be employable, and on the verge of bankruptcy.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/>

The book ''Conversations with Woody Allen'' reports that director [[Woody Allen]] wanted to cast Downey and [[Winona Ryder]] in his 2003 film ''[[Melinda and Melinda]]'' but was unable to do so because he could not get insurance on them. Allen stated, "We couldn't get bonded. The [[completion guarantee|completion bonding]] companies would not bond the picture unless we could insure them. We were heartbroken because I had worked with Winona before [on ''[[Celebrity (1998 film)|Celebrity]]''] and thought she was perfect for this and wanted to work with her again. And I had always wanted to work with Bob Downey and always thought he was a huge talent."<ref name="Conversations With Woody Allen">{{cite book|last1=Lax|first1=Eric|author-link1=Eric Lax|orig-year=First published 2007|chapter=Chapter 1: The Idea|title=Conversations With Woody Allen: His Films, the Movies, and Moviemaking. Updated and expanded.|type=E-book|edition=1st|location=New York|publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]]|year= 2009|isbn=978-1400031498|lccn=2009012210|oclc=232980446|ol=23192563M}}</ref>

In a December 18, 2000, article for ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine titled "Bad to Worse", Downey's stepmother, Rosemary, told author Alex Tresnlowski that Downey had been diagnosed with [[bipolar disorder]] "a few years ago" and added that this was "the reason he has a hard time staying sober. What hasn't been tried is medication and intensive [[psychotherapy]]."<ref name="BadToWorse">{{cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/cover-story-bad-to-worse-vol-54-no-26/|title=Bad to Worse|last=Tresnlowski|first=Alex|work=People|date=December 18, 2000|access-date=October 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808221202/https://people.com/archive/cover-story-bad-to-worse-vol-54-no-26/|archive-date=August 8, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In the same article, Dr. Manijeh Nikakhtar, a Los Angeles psychiatrist and co-author of ''Addiction or Self-Medication: The Truth'', claimed she received a letter from Downey in 1999, during his time at Corcoran II, asking for advice on his condition. She discovered that "no one had done a complete [psychiatric] evaluation [on him] ... I asked him flat out if he thought he was bipolar, and he said, 'Oh yeah. There are times I spend a lot of money and I'm hyperactive, and there are other times I'm down.'"<ref name="BadToWorse" />

In an article for the March 2007 issue of ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'', Downey stated that he wanted to address "this whole thing about the bipolar" after receiving a phone call from "the Bipolar Association" asking him about being bipolar. When Downey denied he had ever said he was bipolar, the caller quoted the ''People'' article, to which Downey replied, "'No! ''Dr. Malibusian'' said [I said I was bipolar] ... ', and they go, 'Well, it's been written, so we're going to quote it.'"<ref name="EsquireMarch2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0307downeyjr|title=May God Bless and Keep Robert Downey Jr.|last=Raab|first=Scott|work=Esquire|date=March 2007|access-date=November 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114215426/http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0307downeyjr|archive-date=January 14, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Downey flatly denied being "[[Major depressive disorder|depressed]] or [[Hypomania|manic]]" and said that previous attempts to diagnose him with any kind of [[Mental disorder|psychiatric]] or [[mood disorder]] have always been skewed because "the guy I was seeing didn't know I was smokin' crack in his bathroom. You can't make a diagnosis until somebody's sober."<ref name="EsquireMarch2007" />