So one of the things I really love about Robert Downey Jr. is when he meets a sick child (usually has a serious illness, in/out of the hospital, etc) it doesn’t stop with a photo-op.
He continues to keep in touch with them afterwards.
EXAMPLE #1: Brock Johnson, whom he started interacting with in ~2014
RDJ continued to keep in touch with him and his family for well over a year – e.g. here’s the two of them at RDJ’s house, and also
This went on until Brock’s untimely passing and beyond. RDJ remains in touch with Brock’s family even over a year since then – e.g. almost three months after the fact, and as recently as a month ago.
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EXAMPLE #2: Ryan Wilcox.
Gwyneth Paltrow first got in touch with Ryan and then she brought him to RDJ and Chris Evans’ attentions, culminating in a much-reportedvisit to Ryan’s house in San Diego back in May 2016.
Three months later, RDJ continues to be in touch,via Facetime
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EXAMPLE #3: Kiel Lampman, whom RDJ started interacting with last month.
From that news article(specifically the pic’s caption), it sounded like RDJ has called him a few times (usually after treatments).
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There’s a couple more that we’re aware of but I just don’t have enough info to include on this list – e.g.this comment.
And that’s another thing: with the exception of the Ryan Wilcox one (which was much publicized because Goop), all of these had near-zero media attention.
In fact, honestly, the only reason why we know of these is because some of us tend to obsessively scour social media for anything related to RDJ. He himself has never talked or hinted at doing these things. Ever.
And you know, he’s a busy guy – one of the biggest movie stars in the world; has a company that has been trying to get projects off the ground for years, but also has non-film pursuits; has two little kids under the age of five and an older son whose band performances he wouldliterally fly to middle Americafor, just to watch. Yet he takes his time to do all of this.
I just think he’s a really great dude.
This is why it annoys me to read ignorant comments (by people trolling under news stories, etc.) sometimes that imply RDJ doesn’t do much charity work.
No, he doesn’t MAKE A BIG MEDIA DEAL out of his charity work, as many stars do (unless it’s to raise awareness of a major fund-raising campaign, like the work he does with Omaze/Random Act, where he wants to rally all his fans to participate).
I’ve heard from several people here in L.A. who know of the quiet support he gives to many rehab organizations and projects, for example. These very personal outreaches to kids, though - yes, for the biggest male movie star in the world, that he keeps them on his radar and obviously makes them a priority…it’s very heartwarming.
And yet we’re some of the few folks who even know about it. Which may be the most heartwarming thing of all.
As King Solomon once said,
“Our work is meaningless unless it is to do good” (Ecclesiastes 3:12–13).
“When we started filming The Avengers, Captain America had not come out yet, and my big concern with Captain America was the press. I love doing one-on-ones. This feels like a conversation. This feels normal to me. But when you get on a stage, all of a sudden you feel like, man, there are 100 people just looking at you. It’s a little bit of a strange feeling. Your heart starts pounding, and that’s scary. Downey was good at just making me feel calm, saying, ‘Look, you’re not alone in this,’ and helping my confidence.” - Chris Evans
