Robert Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1969) is an American actor. Born in New York City, he is the son of director Robert Downey Sr Having appeared in several small film roles from an early age, at 20 he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, but only appeared there for one season. He went on to star in The Pick-up Artist in 1987. The same year, he portrayed the drug-addicted rich boy in Less Than Zero, a role which came close to his later public life. In 1992 Downey starred as Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin, a role which garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In 2000, he began an acclaimed stint on the television series Ally McBeal, but his role was interrupted by his private life.