Robert Downey Jr Quotes

The first rule of acting, is you do not ask Robert Downey Jr. about his acting.

Don’t let success go to your head, but also don’t let failure go to your heart.

I know very little about acting. I’m just an incredibly gifted faker.

I think self-examination is important for everybody, but a lot of times, actors are doing it all the time.

I think that we all do heroic things, but hero is not a noun, it’s a verb.

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.

I think you end up doing the stuff you were supposed to do at the time you were supposed to do it.

The higher the stakes, the happier I am, the better I will be.

I’ve always felt like an outsider.

Worrying is like praying for something you don’t want to happen.

I don’t need an Iron Man suit, because I am Iron Man.

I think it’s miraculous that anybody survives themselves.

I’ve grown up all my life being slightly ashamed of where I’m from.

I’ve always found the best way to get along with people is to assume they’re doing the best they can.

I used to be so convinced that happiness was the goal, yet all those years, all I wanted was to be loved.

I’m very good at actively trying to change something that doesn’t work for me.

The lesson is that you can still make mistakes and be forgiven.

It’s not like I’m anti-Jesus or anything, I just like to put a little more thought into it.

It’s always fun to have a little bit of something that you can vent on outside of the set.

I used to flirt with men who were little people and amputees. I had to learn to do some weird stuff.

I’m a big advocate of being responsible.

He’s just like … he’s one of these guys where he doesn’t really have a ton of friends in the business. He’s kind of the most truly artistically inclined. We talk and or text probably like four or five times a week. He’s said some really, really, really emotional, really intense [stuff] to me. Iron Man 2 had been regarded by some critics as horrible or whatever. Part of the element of that chat was me saying: ‘Hey man, you know exactly what you’re doing.’

I always think part of success is being able to replicate reliable formulas.

I just think it’s good to be confident. If I’m not on my team why should anybody else be?

I know very little about acting. I’m just an incredibly gifted faker.

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.

Listen, smile, agree. And then do whatever the f*ck you were going to do anyway.

Whenever I’m on stage, it’s actually a very well-produced orgy… no one’s really having any fun, but it looks amazing.

I have a sense of destiny that you are led to the things you are supposed to do.

A hero is somebody who, in my opinion, is selfless and humble and takes on more than they can handle because they want to help other people.

Discipline for me is the biggest stumbling block of any creative person.

I don’t mind difficult people. I like the idea that they’re all weird, and that every weirdo in the world is part of a community that could one day rise.

I think that the power is the principles.

If you want to give up the admiration of thousands of men for the disdain of one, go ahead, get married.

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.

You do better with each job. True confidence and success comes from conservative, well-measured risks.

I can’t remember where I was, but I remember where I wasn’t: home.

I have a very unique take on masculinity, that work equals happiness, which is definitely a very Western male perspective.

I’ve always been comfortable with my impulsivity.

I don’t think that being typecast is a good thing or a bad thing.

I don’t have any respect for celebrities who act out or rebel or do things that make fools of themselves so often.

It’s wanting to win that makes us fail.

Remember that just because you hit bottom doesn’t mean you have to stay there.

The fine line between perseverance and insanity is measured by your success.

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.

I just don’t think most people get it. In our movie business, there are a lot of people who are very determined and will look you right in the eye and tell you that you don’t matter, so that’s why I shake things up; because I want to instill in people, especially children, the level of hope they’re going to need to get through this thing called life.

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.

I don’t care about winning an Oscar.

The lesson is that you can still make mistakes and be forgiven.

I always think part of success is being able to replicate reliable formulas.