Actor Robert Downey Jr. dropped a fun video on Instagram to celebrate his birthday, showcasing how he has been living life to the fullest with a torrent of in-jokes and references to filmmaker Christopher Nolan, his favourite musicians, his son’s baseball match and his almost two-decade-long marriage. The Iron Man actor turned 58 on April 4.
The video begins with Downey Jr. sitting at the dining table surrounded by family and friends as a birthday cake with candles arrives in their midst. The Dolittle actor is also seen chronicling his gratitude for the last year backed by Psycho Killer by the American rock band Talking Heads. “57 you’ve been too kind with deep gratitude I shall rewind..,” reads the caption.
After the birthday cake arrives at the table, Downey Jr.’s video becomes a montage of many events, starting with a reference to his upcoming film Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan. Downey is set to play Lewis Strauss, the former chairman of the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The text on the video reads, “Thanks to the Nolans we are of one accord.”
The video then turns to Hugh Herr, a rock climber and a professor at the MIT Media Lab, where he directs the Biomechatronics research group. “Thanks to Hugh Herr and the MIT Bionics board,” reads the text, referring to Downey Jr and Herr’s meeting last year at MIT.
“The doc about “Sr” surely hit close to home,” reads the text as the video rolls on to present a tribute to the late Robert Downey Sr., who was a renowned independent filmmaker. Last year, Downey Jr. produced a documentary titled Sr to celebrate his father’s life and work. It is currently streaming on Netflix.
The video then shows footage of the actor’s children shaving his head. The text reads, “Thanks to my kids for shaving my dome for the project The Sympathizer for playing multiple roles.” The actor went through an extensive prosthetic makeup routine for HBO’s upcoming drama thriller series The Sympathizer, where he will reportedly play five roles.
It then shows his love for the actor’s favourite musician — son Indio — and showcases his records. “And my favourite musicians for achieving their goals,” reads the text.
The video also touches upon the actor’s endeavour to make the internet a safe place with his partners at Aura. “For my partners at Aura building safety online,” the text card shows, before it goes on show the Sherlock Holmes actor at a baseball game cheering for his son Exton. From there, the scene shifts to Downey Jr.’s wife, Susan Downey, with whom he completed 17 years of marriage. “Watching Exton play baseball was a heck of a time and sweet 17 of marriage - subline,” the text reads.
After alluding to different phases of the actor’s life, the clip shows Downey Jr. blowing the candles at the dinner table. “After all these blessings I must simply say - I hope I NEVER grow up one day,” it ends on this sweet note.
