How did Robert Downey Jr. get huge roles amid addiction?

In the late 90s, Robert Downey Jr. was neck-deep in addiction, but he was still getting huge roles in films such as Natural Born Killers, Danger Zone and U.S. Marshals.

Ben Falk, who wrote a biography on the star, recalled the response of the Iron Man actor when he was asked how he appeared in movies despite struggling with addiction.

"I remember someone asking him why he still got roles even when he was a heroin addict because most people wouldn't hire a heroin addict," the author told The Mirror US, adding, "He was like, 'I'm fun to spend six weeks in the desert with.'" 

The writer also described the Oscar-winning actor as "someone who people like" and explained that people were willing to help him because "you knew that he was only ever doing it to himself."

"If you read the bad stories about him, it's not that he fell asleep on set or that he showed up a bit late or that," Ben noted. 

"It's not that he was ever cruel to people, screamed at people, which I think is people are less forgiving of."

"He's not violent, he's not cruel, he's a talented guy who blew up his own life. And that is something that a lot of people in all walks of life go through," the author of Robert Downey Jr: The Fall and Rise Of The Comeback Kid continued.

"It was something that he was doing to himself. He was never doing it to anyone else. It was a kind of self flagellation. It was like, he's blowing his own life up. And I think people recognize that he just needed help," Ben concluded.