What are the best Robert Downey Jr. movies of all time?

From scrappy indie darling to Hollywood’s biggest box-office force, RDJ has played icons, villains, geniuses, and everything in between. Which film is his best?

1

Iron Man

A 2008 Marvel superhero film in which Downey Jr. plays billionaire Tony Stark who builds a powered suit and becomes Iron Man.

2

Avengers: Endgame

A 2019 Marvel epic featuring Downey Jr.’s iconic final performance as Tony Stark in the emotional conclusion of the Infinity Saga.

3

Chaplin

A 1992 biographical film in which Downey Jr. plays silent film legend Charlie Chaplin, earning him an Academy Award nomination.

4

Tropic Thunder

A 2008 comedy in which Downey Jr. plays an Australian method actor who dyes his skin to play a Black soldier, earning an Oscar nomination.

5

Oppenheimer

A 2023 Christopher Nolan epic in which Downey Jr. plays Lewis Strauss, the antagonist who destroys Oppenheimer’s career, winning him the Academy Award.

6

Sherlock Holmes

A 2009 action mystery in which Downey Jr. plays a witty, eccentric version of the famous fictional detective opposite Jude Law’s Watson.

7

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

A 2005 crime-comedy neo-noir in which Downey Jr. plays a bumbling thief mistaken for an actor who stumbles into a murder investigation.

8

Zodiac

A 2007 David Fincher thriller in which Downey Jr. plays San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery investigating the Zodiac killer.

9

The Judge

A 2014 courtroom drama in which Downey Jr. plays a hotshot lawyer who returns home to defend his estranged father accused of murder.

10

Less Than Zero

A 1987 drama in which Downey Jr. plays Julian, a rich teenager spiraling into drug addiction in Los Angeles.

11

Wonder Boys

A 2000 dark comedy-drama in which Downey Jr. plays a literary editor visiting a troubled novelist professor for the weekend.

12

Heart and Souls

A 1993 fantasy comedy in which Downey Jr. plays a man who discovers he has been linked to four ghosts since birth.

13

Due Date

A 2010 road comedy in which Downey Jr. plays an uptight father desperate to reach home in time for the birth of his child.

14

Avengers: Infinity War

A 2018 Marvel epic in which Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark faces the ultimate threat as Thanos seeks to destroy half of all life.