Robert Downey Jr pardoned for 1990s offences

US actor Robert Downey Jr has “earned a full and unconditional pardon” of the drug conviction that landed him in prison years ago and almost derailed his career.

Downey, who has been one of Hollywood’s top stars since his 2008 comeback in Iron Man, was among 91 people granted pardons Thursday by Gov Jerry Brown of California, who has made a tradition of granting pardons on Christmas Eve, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Downey (50) was arrested on drug and weapons charges in 1996 after he was stopped by the police, who found an unloaded .357 Magnum and small amounts of heroin and cocaine in his car. After multiple probation violations, he was sentenced to prison in 1999.

After his release, Downey’s troubles continued, and by 2003 he was considered uninsurable as an actor and had difficulty finding work. But one day that year, he told David Carr of The New York Times, he threw all his drugs into the ocean and decided he was finished with them.

The pardon does not erase his record, but it does allow him to serve on a jury. Downey submitted a certificate of rehabilitation from a judge earlier this year. The certificate said that Downey “has lived an honest and upright life, exhibited good moral character, and conducted himself as a law-abiding citizen,” according tothe pardon.

Before the pardon was granted, Downey tweeted: “You’re only on the naughty list if you get caught ...”

In April, Downey walked out a British television interview after the questions turned to his problems with drugs and alcohol.

He also deflected questions about his past in his 2008 interview with Carr. “If I see somebody who is throwing their life away with both hands and is raging around and destroying their family, I can’t understand that person,” he said. “I’m not in that sphere of activity anymore.”

NYT