Robert Downey Jr. Gets A 'Kiss'

Since making his film debut more than 20 years ago, Robert Downey Jr. has consistently been called one of the finest actors of his generation. Now he's one of the busiest.

He has seven films being released next year, with two others already in theaters. One of them is the comic crime tale "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang," in which he teams up with Val Kilmer.

"It's the kind of movie I'd like to go see and that my friends will always tell me, 'Go see this because it's kind of wild and different,' " Downey tells The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler."

Wild and different is also the part he plays: protagonist/narrator Harry Lockhart, a bumbling, stumbling thief who, in an effort to evade arrest, "stumbles into an audition for a private investigator-type movie. And he does well because he's under duress because his partner has been shot," Downey says.

In the film's production notes, producer Joel Silver says: "We needed an actor who could convey the character's blend of optimism, recklessness, misguided persistence and likeability. In addition to his obvious talents as an actor, Robert Downey Jr. exudes a boyish charm and an appeal that is perfect for Harry."

The plot, however, doesn't fit into a nice and neat description. "It's like when my buddies and I, and circle of friends saw 'Pulp Fiction,' " Downey says. "You couldn't explain the plot. It was, 'You got to go see this because it's a great, fun film.' "

Teaming up with Val Kilmer seems like the obvious choice for a buddy movie, but Downey says: "We're both kind of eccentric and reputations, warranted or unwarranted, aside we care a lot about what we do. And we're both pretty seasoned."

Also special for Downey is that "Susan Downey produced this movie," he says stressing the fact his wife dropped Levine to become Downey.

Downey is currently in theaters in "Good Night and Good Luck," directed by George Clooney. Downey plays Joe Wershabe, a reporter on the controversial Edward R. Murrow CBS team that battles Sen. Joe McCarthy.

Along with "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," Downey has finished production on two other films this year including Richard Linklater's futuristic drama "A Scanner Darkly." The film co-stars Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder and Woody Harrelson living in an America that has lost the war on drugs. The second film is "Shaggy Dog," where a man tries to live a normal life despite the fact that he sometimes turns into a sheepdog.

About Robert Downey Jr.

• Made his first screen appearance at age 5 in 1970, playing a puppy in "Pound" (1970), directed by father Robert Downey
• Worked as a piece of living art in a SoHo nightclub in New York after dropping out of high school
• Got his break in a small part in his father's film, "America." Film was shot in 1982 but released in 1986
• Had his first credited role in "Baby, It's You," directed by John Sayles in 1983
• Landed several small roles in "Weird Science," 1985 and "Back to School," 1986
• Got his breakthrough role in "Less Than Zero" as the tragic, cocaine-addicted Julian in 1987.
• Worked opposite James Woods in "True Believer" as the idealistic lawyer in 1989. The same year, he was the confused romantic hero in "Chances Are."
• Got the title role in Richard Attenborough's biopic "Chaplin" in 1992. The film was not well received at the box-office, but his performance earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination.
• Co-starred with Charles Grodin and Kyra Sedgwick in the comedy "Heart and Souls" in 1993. Also that year, he was cast in Robert Altman's "Short Cuts."
• Received critical acclaim in Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers" in 1994, as an Australian talk-show host broadcasting during a prison riot. Went on to perform as Marisa Tomei's would-be lover in "Only You."
• Had three high profile roles in 1995: Holly Hunter's manic gay brother in Jodie Foster's "Home for the Holidays;" as a 17th-century court physician who falls out of favor with the King and seeks redemption in a Quaker hospital in the lavish "Restoration;" and as Annette Bening's brother in Richard Loncraine's "Richard III", starring Ian McKellen.
• Was arrested in 1996 for drug possession and carrying an unloaded firearm. He continued to work while going in and out of rehab as part of a sentence of three years' probation.
• After missing mandatory drug tests, he was arrested and jailed in 1997. Two years later, after repeated offenses, Downey was sentenced to a prison term despite outcries and pleas that the actor be placed in rehab. The same year he was seen in "One Night Stand" as a gay man stricken with AIDS.
• Worked as an associate of Kenneth Branagh's Southern lawyer in Robert Altman's "The Gingerbread Man" in 1998. He was also a womanizer confronted by a pair of his lovers in "Two Girls and a Guy."
• Landed the role of a documentary filmmaker's homosexual husband who makes a pass at Mike Tyson in "Black & White" in 1999. And in 2000 offered a slyly comic supporting turn as Michael Douglas' gay editor in "Wonder Boys."
• Released from prison in August 2000 after being incarcerated for a year. Soon after, he entered a drug treatment facility. The next role he played was love interest to Calista Flockhart's titular "Ally McBeal" on that Fox TV series, for which he got great reviews. But during the Thanksgiving holidays in 2000, he was arrested on weapons and drug possession charges but cooperated with police. Two months later, he picked up a Golden Globe Award for his work on the Fox show.
• Was once again arrested in April 2001, for being under the influence of a controlled substance. Producer David E. Kelley fired him and re-wrote the series' last episode (in which his character was supposed to marry Ally). Despite earning an Emmy nomination for his work on the show, there was little chance of his ever returning to reprise the part. In July 2001, Downey was sentenced to three years probation including one year in a drug rehab center.
• In 2003, his old friend and co-star Mel Gibson helped re-launch Downey's career by casting the actor in the Gibson-produced screen adaptation of author Dennis Potter's "The Singing Detective," a disjointed hodge-podge of a film in which Downey was no less than superb as the titular hero Dan Dark, lost in a musical noir fantasy. He was also cast opposite Halle Berry in the horror thriller "Gothika," playing Berry's colleague, a sympathetic psychologist who tries to determine if she's crazy or possessed by an evil spirit.
• In November 2004, Downey released his debut album called "The Futurist" on the Sony Classics Label. The album, which contains eight original songs that Downey wrote, and two cover songs, shows off his sultry singing voice, and his musical talents. He also began filming "Fur" in early May with Nicole Kidman, directed by Steven Shainberg.