ROBERT DOWNEY JR - DRUG ROLE PROVED A STRUGGLE FOR DOWNEY JR

DRUG ROLE PROVED A STRUGGLE FOR DOWNEY JR

Former addict ROBERT DOWNEY JR found shooting new movie A SCANNER DARKLY more difficult than he had expected, because he had to relive his horrific experiences as a drug user. The 41-year-old, who is now clean, has a well-publicised history of drug problems and hoped he could exorcise his demons by taking on the role in director RICHARD LINKLATER's animated film. He says, "It wasn't a cathartic or luminous thing for me because the movie is about a drug-addled society. "Watching the movie, it was kind of funny how my character's paranoid can-I-trust-my-buddies references were so sick and so fun to see."