There is a saying to never leave the hand of those who have your back in the toughest of times. Robert Downey Jr. and Mel Gibson, the best friend duo in Hollywood never left each other side no matter how much downhill things went. Their friendship has been going on for more than three decades and continues. They both faced a lot of struggles and hardships in their careers, but still stuck by each other.
They have worked together on a total of two films. The name of the films are as follows, Air America (1990) and The Singing Detective (2003). But the 1990 film of them didn’t perform well at the box office and was a total flop. It earned in a total of $33M worldwide and got a 5.8 IMDB rating.
Robert Downey Jr. Defends Mel Gibson
Hollywood may have turned its back on Mel Gibson, but BFF Robert Downey Jr. still thinks he deserves forgiveness and a second chance. For those of you who don’t know, Hollywood has already blacklisted Mel Gibson because of his anti-Semitic and racist remarks in the DUI case in 2006.
In 2011, Robert Downey Jr. was awarded the 25th American Cinematheque prize. But he chose his friend Gibson to present this award to him, to make Hollywood stars realize that the Signs actor is worthy of a chance.
During his acceptance speech, he asked everyone to give Gibson a clean slate just like they gave him for substance abuse mistakes.
“I humbly ask that you join me — unless you are completely without sin, in which case you picked the wrong f***ing industry — in forgiving my friend his trespasses, offering him the same clean slate you have me, and allowing him to continue his great and ongoing contribution to our collective art without shame. He’s hugged the cactus long enough.”
Well, the Iron Man actor also shared the story of how Mel Gibson brought him out of the darkness and showed him the light in his hardships.
Mel Gibson Was An Angel In Robert Downey Jr.’s Life
The Sherlock Holmes actor’s father had a drug addiction, which also led to him starting to take drugs when he was just eight years old. Because of extreme consumption, and after failing to take drug tests ordered by the court, he was arrested in the year 1999 and was in jail for three years.
In his speech, Downey Jr. revealed that it was Gibson who gave him a helping hand when he was struggling to get a job and food. As the Mad Max actor cast him in his film and reminded him every time to not give up. Not only did, Gibson help him professionally but gave him a place to live and helped him gather the courage to make life better.
“I asked Mel to present this award to me for a reason because when I couldn’t get sober he told me not to give up hope and he urged me to find my faith. It didn’t have to be his or anyone else’s as long as it was rooted in forgiveness.”
Apart from Susan Downey, who played an important part in her husband’s Downey Jr. addiction recovery. Mel Gibson was also the one who brought him back to the industry when no one was ready to hire him. That’s the reason The Zodiac actor stood beside him during his tough times and asked Hollywood to forgive.
Source: The Guardian
