Happy Birthday, Robert Downey Jr.!

Today we're celebrating the 47th birthday of Academy Award-nominated actor Robert Downey Jr. He scored his first film appearance in 1970's Pound, but it wasn't until his role in 1985's Weird Science that the public actually started to notice him. Downey worked consistently through the rest of the 1980s and scored his first Oscar nomination in 1992 for his portrayal of Charlie Chaplin in the film Chaplin. Although he continued to find film roles, his off-screen life started to fall into a bit of turmoil, and it wasn't until the mid-2000s that Downey truly started to make a comeback. In 2005, he appeared in the films Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Good Night, and Good Luck, but it was his roles in the 2008 films Iron Man and Tropic Thunder - for which he scored his second Oscar nomination - that truly put him back on the map. Most recently, Downey Jr. reprised his role of Sherlock Holmes in 2011's Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and audiences will next see him reprise his role as Tony Stark in 2012's The Avengers. And so, to celebrate his birthday, I've listed my five favorite of his performances and have supplied a few short clips for your viewing pleasure. Once again, happy birthday Robert!

5. Wayne Gale
Natural Born Killers (1994)


*****

4. Tony Stark / Iron Man
Iron Man (2008)


*****

3. James Barris
A Scanner Darkly (2006)


*****

2. Harry Lockhart
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)


*****

1. Kirk Lazarus
Tropic Thunder (2008)