Robert Downey Jr. Credits Mel Gibson for Addiction Recovery

HUCK AND TOM? –

Dec. 13, 2024 – “I asked Mel to present this award [the 25th Annual American Cinematheque Award] to me for a reason,” Downey began. “Because when I couldn’t get sober, he told me not to give up hope, and he urged me to find my faith. “Gibson spoke kindly of the star, who he famously helped to make a comeback by paying Downey Jr.’s insurance bond so he could star in 2003’s THE SINGING DETECTIVE. “You are my friend,” Gibson said when presenting Downey with the award. “When I saw you all those years ago and got all those warnings, I just thought, ‘There’s nothing so much wrong with him.’” Gibson explained, “You’re a good dude with a good heart.”

Downey continued, “And most importantly, he said, that if I accepted responsibility for my wrongdoings and I embraced that part of my soul that was ugly — hugging the cactus he calls it. He said if I hugged the cactus long enough, I’d become a man of some humility and that my life would take on new meaning and it worked. All he asked in return was that someday I help the next guy.”