Robert Downey Jr. he went to prison for a year. “An angry judge overstated the sentence”

in the 1990s he was going through a particularly difficult period in his life. From 1996 to 2001, the actor was arrested numerous times on charges of possession of cocaine, heroin and marijuana. He went through drug rehabilitation programs several times. He was arrested for the first time in 1997, where he spent half a year, which did not sober him up. He was constantly abusing and getting into trouble with the law. In 1999, during the trial, he explained to the judge: – It’s like having a gun barrel in my mouth and my finger on the trigger. I like the taste of the metal that the barrel is made of,” he reported. He maintained that he had been addicted to drugs since he was eight years old, because his father – also an addict – gave him drugs.

Robert Downey Jr. he was sent to prison for a year

In 1999, Downey again failed to attend a court-ordered blood drug test – the actor was then arrested. Although he hired the same legal team that defended OJ Simpson in his murder trial, Downey was sentenced to three years in prison. He was to serve his sentence at the California Addiction Treatment Center and State Prison.

The actor spoke about what was going on in Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast. He admits to denying his addiction at the time, but believes “an angry judge overstated the sentence,” he relates the conversation. The “Iron Man” star believes it was “probably the most dangerous place he’s ever been” because prisoners detained for various crimes (theft, but also murder) are kept in one facility.

“There was evil in the air, but it wasn’t a problem because it was like the feast you get when you get to a really bad neighborhood. There were no opportunities there. There were only threats,” the actor describes. He admits he managed to “twist” and get “giggles and jeers” when he stepped into the shower one day wearing his underwear backwards. He was later transported to his final destination.

Robert Downey Jr. recalls that it took two weeks to accept why he was sent to prison: “We are programmed to adapt very quickly to things that previously seemed impossible. For me, the worst thing that could have happened to me was to be sent to such an institution, for sure. However, we only judge things like that based on what we know, so if I had to guess, it really was the worst thing that ever happened to me.”

How did he survive in prison? – As long as you have the willingness to hurt someone, it’s unlikely that someone will attack you. But I think the bottom line is what’s the difference between giving the impression that you can attack and actually wanting to hurt,” he told Shepard.

Ultimately, Robert Downey Jr. was shortened to a year. He was released in 2000 on condition that he post bail of five thousand dollars. He describes his time in prison as “exile to a distant planet from which there is no return until the stars are properly configured.”