Robert Downey Jr. has spent the last decade successfully rebuilding his life after spending too many years living on the edge.
At one point, he was expected to overdose and various entertainment sites probably had an obit ready to go when it finally happened. He was the guy everyone knew would be simply amazing onscreen — if only he could clean up his act and focus on his work for real.
Then one day something clicked and Downey Jr. decided to do that. He considered his mother, Elsie Ann Downey, to be his rock, so her death at 81 last week hit the actor hard.
Last Friday, Downey Jr. posted a touching tribute to his mother on Facebook, describing in detail the flaws that may have kept his mother from having the career she dreamed of and how she taught him everything he knows:
"While I strived to have the kind of success that eluded her, my own addiction repeatedly forbade it.
"In the summer of 2004, I was in bad shape. She called me out of the blue, and I admitted everything. I don't remember what she said, but I haven't drank or used since.
"She was my role model as an actor, and as a woman who got sober and stayed that way.
"She was also reclusive, self-deprecating, a stoic Scotch-German rural Pennsylvanian, a ball buster, stubborn, and happy to hold a grudge.
"My ambition, tenacity, loyalty, 'moods,' grandiosity, occasional passive aggression, and my faith ....
That's all her ... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
"If anyone out there has a mother, and she's not perfect, please call her and say you love her anyway ..."
While so much attention has gone to Downey Jr.'s work ethic and his personal life, maybe the most important thing has been lost along the way: The man has a deep understanding of people thanks to his own battles. Instead of regretting the mistakes of his mother, he is grateful for the flaws she ultimately passed on to him because they have either contributed to his character or taught him a valuable lesson.
Downey Jr.'s gracefulness toward and about his beloved mother may be more memorable then his next big role and perhaps it should be, don't you think? Comment below.