Robert Downey Jr Talks Style

Robert Downey Jr is on the cover of the inaugural issue of GQ Style. Here's what he had to say:

Okay, these are about to get pretty kaleidoscopic now... How long does it take you to get dressed in the morning?

"It's very quick. Because I pick out my clothes the night before. What do you call that when something telescopes out and then it's like a little rod? I have two telescoping rods. I could use a third. One telescoping rod has what I'll be training in that morning. The other telescoping rod has what I'll be changing into after I've soaked through my training clothes, as my outfit du jour. Now, were I left to do that in the morning, you said how long does it take you to get dressed, I would say six hours."

Weirdest grooming ritual?

"Well, it's not weird, but I think it's funny. If I'm gonna go promote one of these Marvel movies, I'll want to have the thing [points to his chin, where the signature Tony Stark facial hair would go] done up right... So I will attempt to do my own version. I'll try to get the hourglass there."

Do you think your younger self would be surprised to see where you've ended up now?

"[exhales] Yeah. Yeah. But, you know, back then, I had that kind of confidence that is like the guy who's getting out of his car, talking shit, and is probably about to get hammered. They always say, "If you make your wish list, oftentimes you'll shortchange yourself." Because usually, in the Western mode, it all has to do with a sense of material attainment. And what I've found is, I get off on the wonderment of, Oh, my God, dude! We have, like, an office!"

What do you collect?

"I like crystals and stones. I like vintage cars. But I can't really say I have what would be considered a collection. You know what I collect? I collect the beginnings of collections, and then I lose interest."

What do crystals and stones do for you?

"They're tangible little batteries of energy and all that stuff. I'm not some New Agey guy at all. But there are things about, you know, particularly if they're not tainted—I like the stuff that you can just pick up and put in your pocket or carry around. I used to collect Marvel Iron Man memorabilia, and then what happened is I started hanging out with a bunch of, like, kids and stuff, or meeting kids and going to friends' birthday parties, and it's all gone."

Is there anything cool about sobriety?

"There's nothing uncool about it. I think the bigger question is: Is life on life's terms okay with you? [traces the outline of an oval table between us] This is a nice table because it has no edge. The physical planet on which we live has the implication that it's a circle, but what it really is, is a hundred trillion right angles that you have to navigate. And life is not a circular table. Life has edges. Anything somebody could do to distract themselves from that reality… Sobriety's even a stupid word for it. It's reality. Or rather, having a realistic assessment of your limitations. So, is there a downside to having a realistic assessment of your limitations? Yes. Because in certain instances, you can pretend that's what's limiting you. But in fact, what it really is, is just an honest account of your statistical probabilities. It doesn't mean you shouldn't go heli-skiing. It actually means you should. But you probably won't."

Read the full interview at GQ Style.