ROBERT DOWNEY JR.
Age 43
Last Seen In Iron Man
Career Box Office $1.6 billion
Asking Price $12.5 million
Hollywood loves a comeback story — and Downey has a doozy. Those missteps back in his 30s (e.g., getting busted in a Palm Springs hotel room with cocaine and a Wonder Woman costume) could have destroyed any actor's shot at resurrection. But Downey climbed back with a series of smallish roles in smart pictures (Good Night, and Good Luck, Zodiac) and then strapped a jet pack to his career with Iron Man, which has grossed more than $500 million worldwide. ''Years ago that guy was waking up in strangers' beds — he was so out of the picture,'' notes one top talent agent. ''Now look at him. He's in a great place.'' The industry's rooting for him to win, but at his age, Downey doesn't have room for mistakes. He'll have to churn out consistant good work to keep his newly bankable, franchise-friendly image aloft.
NEXT UP FOR ROBERT DOWNEY JR. This summer, there's Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder, in which Downey plays a black man (sort of), followed this fall by the tony drama The Soloist.
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