Robert Downey Jr. Credits a Disgusting Burger King Burger With Saving His Life

In 2003, Robert Downey Jr. was driving along the Pacific Coast Highway. He had been in and out of rehab, in and out of jail, and fired from the cast of Ally McBeal. His career was effectively over. The drugs in his car were part of a routine that had been destroying him for the better part of a decade.

He pulled into a Burger King and ordered a burger.

In an interview with Empire magazine, Downey described what happened next: "It was such a disgusting burger I ordered. I had that, and this big soda, and I thought something really bad was going to happen."

Something did happen - but not what he expected. He got back in his car, drove to the ocean, and threw everything he had on him into the water.

That was the turning point. Not rehab, not an intervention, not a judge. A terrible fast food burger on the Pacific Coast Highway.

In the years that followed, Downey rebuilt his career from nothing. He landed a supporting role in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in 2005, which led to the audition that changed everything: Tony Stark in Iron Man.

The Iron Man franchise, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe that followed, earned Downey an estimated $345 million. He became the highest-paid actor in Hollywood.

Downey has never forgotten the moment. In the first Iron Man film, there is a scene where Tony Stark lands back in America after his captivity and immediately asks for a cheeseburger. That was not in the original script. Downey insisted on it as a nod to the meal that changed his life.

He has said publicly: "I have to thank Burger King."