Robert Downey Jr. Credits His "Terrible Childhood" for First Oscar Win

Marvel at Robert Downey Jr.'s new Oscar.

The Oppenheimer star won the award of Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role at the 2024 Oscars, beating out Barbie's Ryan Gosling, Poor Things' Mark Ruffalo, Killers of the Flower Moon's Robert De Niro and American Fiction's Sterling K. Brown. (Click here to see the complete list of winners.)

This is Downey Jr.'s first Academy Award and third nomination, having previously been recognized for his work in 1992's Chaplin and 2008's Tropic Thunder. 

Taking the stage inside Hollywood's Dolby Theatre, the Iron Man alum didn't hold back as he poked fun at his troubled past.

"I'd like to thank my terrible childhood and the Academy—in that order," he noted, before referring to himself as a "snarling rescue pet."

Thanking wife Susan Downey, RDJ continued, "You loved me back to life. That's why I'm here."

 

The 58-year-old also acknowledged his "great" Oppenheimer cast and crew, including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and director Christopher Nolan.

"Here's my little secret: I needed this job more than it needed me," Downey Jr. added. "And I stand here before you a better man because of it. What we do is meaningful, and the stuff that we decide to make is important."

The win caps off a sweeping award season for Downey Jr., who also received a Golden Globe and a SAG Award earlier this year for his portrayal of former United States Atomic Energy Commission chair Lewis Strauss. And during every acceptance speech, the actor has made it a point to thank his wife, who he's jokingly described as his "primary caregiver."

"She has literally made an art out of extracting me from my comfort zone," he told the crowd at the 2024 Golden Globes, before quipping, "but she's easy on the eyes, so whatevs."

At the 2024 SAG Awards, Downey Jr. gave another shoutout to Susan, with whom he shares kids Exton, 12, and Avri, 9. As he put it, "It's because for 22 years she has flawlessly portrayed a sane and rational individual who is happily married to an actor."

To see who else won big at the Oscars, keep reading.

American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

Annette Bening, NYAD
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Emma Stone, Poor Things

Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction

Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
America Ferrera, Barbie
Jodie Foster, NYAD
WINNER: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
WINNER: Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things

Anatomy of a Fall, Justine Triet
Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese
Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan
Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos
The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer

WINNER: The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

 

Best International Feature Film

Io Capitano, Italy
Perfect Days, Japan
Society of the Snow, Spain
The Teachers' Lounge, Germany
WINNER: The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom

Bobi Wine: The People's President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
WINNER: 20 Days in Mariupol

 

Best Documentary Short Film

The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Island in Between
WINNER: The Last Repair Shop
Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó

The After
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, White and Blue
WINNER: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
WINNER: War Is Over! Inspired by The Music of John & Yoko  

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
WINNER: Poor Things

"The Fire Inside," Flamin' Hot
"I'm Just Ken," Barbie
"It Never Went Away," American Symphony
"Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)," Killers of the Flower Moon
"What Was I Made For?," Barbie

American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest

Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
WINNER: Poor Things
Society of the Snow

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
WINNER: Poor Things

WINNER: Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Maestro
May December
Past Lives

WINNER: American Fiction
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

The Creator
WINNER: Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon

 

Best Film Editing

Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
WINNER: Oppenheimer
Poor Things

 

Best Cinematography

El Conde,
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
WINNER: Oppenheimer
Poor Things

The 2024 Academy Awards air live Sunday, March 10, from 7 to 10:30 p.m. ET/4 to 7:30 p.m. PT on ABC. And don't miss E!'s Oscars red carpet starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT on E!.