His Dad forced him to smoke weed when he was 6. Robert's dad was a drug addicted filmmaker who made him do drugs, so they could bond together. "It was like him trying to express his love for me in the only way he knew how." When his parents divorced Robert moved to California with his dad. By this time, he was abusing alcohol and drugs every night. In the midst of the chaos Robert dropped out of school and decided to pursue a career in acting. He focused on his work and took any role he could find, and was hired to be on Saturday Night Live. 

     But SNL had terrible ratings that year and Robert was fired. Still, he continued working small roles in popular films like Weird Science, and soon landed a breakout role in Less than Zero, where he played a cynical drug addict whose life spirals out of control. His performance was widely praised as moving and mature, but Robert felt that he was playing his own drug-addicted self and checked himself into rehab.

     But despite his success, drugs were never far behind. He gave into his demons again and hit rock-bottom, getting arrested and going to prison several times in a few short years. His wife was fed up and left with their son. Lost, tired and desperate for help, Robert checked himself into rehab again. 

      "Remember that just because you hit bottom doesn't mean you have to stay there." While there, he took up meditation, yoga and kung-fu, and finished treatment with a renewed passion for life and desire to stay drug-free. His second wife gave him an ultimatum to stick to his sobriety or lose her. This time, he was ready to give it his all. All his hard work paid off when he landed the role of Iron Man, which went on to make billions worldwide and got him named one of the world's most influential people.

     A true hero, Robert spends much of his time with children who are sick or in need of help. He visits them in the hospital, and in true Tony Stark style, once delivered a new bionic arm to a young boy. Knowing their struggles, he also helps addicts get the help they need to recover. Robert's inspiring comeback story is proof that you can always turn your life around. "People rise out of the ashes, because they are invested in the possibility of triumph over seemingly impossible odds."