Downey Jr. 'humbled' by homeless

Robert Downey Jr. was humbled while working with homeless people on The Soloist - because it reminded him of his darkest moments as a drug addict.

The actor managed to turn his life around nine years ago after conquering his drug demons during a court-ordered stint in rehab, following numerous arrests and a year in a California prison.

And he was confronted by memories of his old life when he visited Los Angeles' rundown Skid Row area to film with homeless people for the new drama, in which he plays a journalist who chronicles the story of a down-and-out musician.

Downey Jr. explains, "I've been that train wreck, and I've been that person next to that train wreck. It turned into this incredibly, wonderfully, humbling three months on Skid Row, which is probably exactly what I needed. I can't think of anyone who doesn't relate to the metaphor of derailment and just how awful and tragic that is."

Titles related to this article

Related/similar articles

• Soloist stars Downey, Jr. and Foxx to team up for road movie (2 October 2009)
• Fantastic Mr Foxx (24 November 2009)
• Crazy Heart leads Prism Awards (24 April 2010)
• Inception tops Saturn Award nominations (26 February 2011)
• Thornton forced to sleep rough in 'violent' and 'volatile' Skid Row (26 April 2011)
• Ruffalo continuing charity work after film research (26 April 2011)