Robert Downey Jr. reflects on troubled relationship with father in new Netflix documentary

Robert Downey Jr. reveals more about his turbulent relationship with his dad and bizarre upbringing in his Netflix documentary Sr.

The documentary, filmed over the last three years of his father’s life, sheds new light on the actor, who told a judge in 1999 he'd been hooked on drugs since the age of eight because his father gave them to him.

According to Mail Online, Robert admitted his addiction to cocaine and heroin was "like I have a shotgun in my mouth, and I’ve got my finger on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gun metal".

Robert's dad, Downey Sr., died of Parkinson's disease in July 2021, at the age of 85. In the documentary, the Iron Man star confronts how his upbringing affected his choices later in life.

"I think we would be remiss not to discuss its effect on me," Downey Jr. said of his bleak upbringing.

"Boy, I would sure love to miss that discussion," his father mumbles back, embarrassed.

The new documentary, directed by Fyre filmmaker Chris Smith, includes a clip from a rare interview, allegedly from the 1990s, in which Downey Sr. admits, "A lot of us thought it would be hypocritical to not have our kids participate in marijuana and stuff like that. It was an idiot move on our parts to share that with our children. I’m just happy he’s here."

Downey Jr. was a Hollywood bad boy for several years thanks to his drug addiction and run-ins with the law. After a series of drug treatment programmes, he got finally got clean in the early 2000s.

Sr. is currently available for streaming on Netflix. It features appearances by Norman Lear, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sean Hayes, and Alan Arkin.