HOT GALLERY: Get to Know 2012’s Teen Choice Awards Before They Were Stars
Who took home this year’s coveted surfboards at the awards show by teens, for teens? Get to know some past choicest nominees and winners—teens and non-teens alike (hey, grownups can be choice, too!). By Nina Hämmerling SmithMovie progeny Robert Downey Jr. grew up around his father (the Sr.)’s drug culture in New York; he began smoking marijuana at age 6(!), just a year after his first acting role, in his father’s movie Pound. After a promising start in films like Weird Science and Less Than Zero, Downey drew acclaim for performances in Chaplin (for which he earned an Oscar nomination), Soapdish and Natural Born Killers before descending into a downward spiral of drugs and rehab. He then made a welcome return to the public eye with a recurring role on Ally McBeal and ventured into more indie fare, including Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Gothika and Zodiac. He has since become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars with movies like Iron Man, Tropic Thunder and Sherlock Holmes. A recent dad (again, after 18 years), Downey told Esquire, “Do I want to be a hero to my son? No. I would like to be a very real human being. That’s hard enough.”