With a wave of new films, Robert Downey Jr. reminds audiences what raw talent looks like.

With all the other publicity that has sometimes surrounded Robert Downey Jr., it can be easy to forget there is a brilliant actor at the center of the storm. For years the charismatic performer only seemed to appear on our TV screens during news reports or as the punch line for some comic's fodder. He was usually accompanied by that infamous mug shot, in which his wide vacant eyes seemed to be asking the question on everyone's mind: "How did I get here?"

The fall of Downey was so heartbreaking precisely because his talent as an actor was never in question. He is wisely credited with reinvigorating the dying series Ally McBeal when he was brought on in the fourth year to play attorney Larry Paul, and it speaks volumes that the show lasted only a season after he left. There's a reason he scored an Oscar nomination at age 26 for the biography Chaplin, a beautifully nuanced turn for which he should have taken home the gold. The performance was made all the more impressive because, up until that point, Downey was primarily known for supporting roles in enjoyable fluff such as Weird Science and Back to School. There had been glimpses of his potential: Even critics who eviscerated the 1987 film version of Bret Easton Ellis' novel Less Than Zero had high praise for Downey's performance as the drug-addled Julian Wells. He had also proven he could hold his own against stars such as Mel Gibson in Air America and Sally Field in Soapdish. Still, it was a bold move for director Richard Attenborough to cast Downey to play the beloved icon in Chaplin, and the actor rewarded him with a stunning turn that perfectly captured The Little Tramp's charm without ever feeling like a cheap imitation.

Currently, Downey can be seen onscreen in two wildly varied roles: Already in theatres is Good Night, and Good Luck, which chronicles journalist Edward R. Murrow's attempts to expose Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. Downey plays Murrow's peer Joe Wershba, who is also secretly married to a co-worker, played by Patricia Clarkson, and their tender relationship provides the only glimpse into the private lives of Murrow's team. Opening this week is Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, a film as big in spectacle as Good Night is small and reserved. In action guru Shane Black's directorial debut, Downey plays small-time crook The film is unabashedly goofy fun, simultaneously skewering and paying homage to hard-boiled detective novels and the dangerous glamour of Los Angeles. It succeeds largely on the chemistry of its two leads, both of whom are in top comedic form. Producer Joel Silver, who previously worked with Downey in Gothika, knew he needed an actor of skill and charisma to play the frequently rakish yet wide-eyed narrator.

"There's something about Harry that keeps you rooting for him, despite his tendency to get in his own way," Silver explains. "We needed an actor who could convey the character's blend of optimism, recklessness, misguided persistence, and likeability. In addition to his obvious talents as an actor, Robert exudes a boyish charm and an appeal that is perfect for Harry."

It's true; audiences can't help but root for Downey in any stage of his career. Though young when he began his foray into performing - his father is underground filmmaker Robert Downey Sr., who cast his son, then 5, in his movie Pound - the younger Downey has always seemed wise beyond his years. He joined the cast of Saturday Night Live at age 20, alongside his good friend Anthony Michael Hall, but neither lasted more than a year and made only sporadic appearances. Ask Downey why he wasn't featured more prominently, and he'll just smile and say, "We were weirdoes." Indeed, the only sketch he wrote that ever made it to air was a strange performance piece in which he was zipped into a suitcase with only his head protruding, and he shouted at the audience. Tell him you remember this bit of art as being profoundly weird and funny and his face lights up. "I love you!" he says, waving his arms in excitement. "That's the kind of thing I find so funny and so many people… don't."

In person Downey is not a far cry from some of his most memorable roles, including Harry Lockhart. He looks fit and handsome, his only apparent vices being chain-smoking cigarettes and a passion for pasta. He has boundless energy, even following a long day of answering questions about atoning for his past, which he does with a practiced openness. But talk to him about his true love - acting - and he lies on the couch and proceeds to answer slowly and thoughtfully, though never without a wicked sense of humor bubbling close to the surface.

BACK STAGE WEST: As you came from a performing family, was it a forgone conclusion you'd become an actor?

ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: Yeah, I guess so, though I'm not certain I knew it. I think having a detachment from your passions is important; that way you'll be prepared for the mandatory years of humility and rejection that are likely to occur - and then occur again after you have some mild or massive success. And then occur and subside and occur and subside. It's literally one of the most humbling jobs - that and sanitation worker. If you think about it, you're saying, "I think I can do this," and it's up to other people who have been there or are in a position to say you've got a shot or give you an opportunity or give you direction - albeit crappy or fantastic direction.

But it ain't a lottery. There's no massive science or mystery to it. It's clearly a question of belief in the possibility of honing your abilities to a place where you can become a product that has value.

BSW: Did you set out to study acting or take acting lessons?

DOWNEY: Yeah, I wasn't above that. I went to Stagedoor Manor, which they made the movie Camp about. Then I did regional theatre back East when I was in my late teens. I did a lot of regional theatre, and I did Off-Broadway in New York. After a while I realized I was making as much money working regularly as a waiter as I was doing theatre and spending my free time going up- and downtown to go to auditions for TV pilots and miniseries. Because for a long period of time, unless you're just insanely lucky right off the bat, you're going to have to stick it out.

BSW: Did you subscribe to any particular method of acting?

DOWNEY: Well a lot of my friends had the extra dough to go to Sanford Meisner in New York, which was great. I would say, more than anything else, I wound up hanging around people who had been through all that and took it seriously, and I just kind of acted as if I understood. Someone would say, "You know, we should really do a repetition on this," and I'd think, "You mean run the scene over and over again?" Then they'd stop on a word, and I'd say that word, and I came to understand the game. I learned as I went. That's essentially the thing; I've had tons and tons and tons of training. The fortunate part is, almost all of it got to be on-the-job training. And why not? What other job on Earth can you get paid to learn how to do what you're there getting paid to do?

BSW: Journalism.

DOWNEY: That's funny; I'm playing a journalist in Zodiac right now. So I consider this all research, actually.

BSW: Zodiac is one of 10 movies you have coming out before the end of next year, correct?

DOWNEY: I know, it's so funny. When it rains it pours, and you've got to strike when the iron's hot. All of a sudden I was getting all these calls and offers. More often than not I'll get offers for something I don't think is right for me, but, at this point in my life, there is so much good stuff, I was, like, "All right, I guess it's time to work a lot."

BSW: How do you go about picking your roles?

DOWNEY: Pretty intuitively. I guess it's the same way that you initially start getting cast in stuff: People have a feeling that maybe you're heading toward being someone who will have a career or stick it out or have some future. It's so weird, though, to say exactly how does it happen? How do you get those breaks?

There's such a Catch-22. Val [Kilmer] was just saying he's been wanting to do comedy for a long time. But he said, "You can't get cast in a comedy unless you've just done a comedy." I was, like, "Really?" I'd almost always, for the last 20 years, just done a comedy, so it wasn't that difficult. But if John Hughes hadn't put me in Weird Science, who knows what would have happened? I might not have ever done comedy. I might be on that HBO series Rome right now, clanging scabbards with someone.

BSW: Your chemistry with Val feels very natural. Did you two click instantly?

DOWNEY: We thought it was there, but we didn't know it worked until the first day of shooting. We would say, "Oh, my God, if we're goofing around on the sidelines and it's funny and we just walk in front of the camera and start doing the script and it works, that would be really cool." It's great because you don't have to worry as much about yourself when you're concentrating on your repartee with someone else. And it so seldom happens. You're almost always in a f***ing vacuum doing your part in a scene with people you like, dislike, or are indifferent toward. And then they do their side, and you try and show up and be the good off-camera actor, and then they swing the lens around and you suddenly get a little more self-conscious and you're wondering, "Are they going to give me their all?" This was never like that. We f***ed with each other for six weeks, and they filmed it. That's essentially what happened.

BSW: When you find yourself in a situation where you don't have that chemistry with co-stars or even your director, how do you make it work?

DOWNEY: It's weird, you know. Ultimatums work. You either get what you need, or you let it be known how you feel. But sometimes you've just got to f***ing suck it up. Again, I'm talking about the humility of the job. And more importantly, you have to realize, "What is my side of this? What is my part in this?" Because, more likely than not, you're probably tripping on something, and that person is the easy avenue for you to say, "You are the reason I am angry." We know as actors that it's really, really important to keep our finger on our own pulse. And if it's all warm and fuzzy, then that's a great, rare thing. And that's what I had with Val. And that's how I feel about him. He's a fantastically gifted artist, and we got to be ourselves with each other, and I'm really grateful.

BSW: You have a lot of actors and directors who are big fans of yours and continue to work with you again and again. How does that come about?

DOWNEY: It's how I feel. I'm really big on camaraderie, and I like continuity with people. It's the same with movies I like. There's a movie that I love, and I like it because I know it's the third movie De Niro did with Scorsese, and their movies are about what they do together with these characters. I don't have that kind of legacy with anyone yet, but I think if you indicate that's where you want to go for long enough, it will happen.

BSW: Do you still have to audition for roles?

DOWNEY: Yeah, I just did. And I didn't get it either. Though I was really close.

I don't mind [auditioning] at all. Truth be told, the great thing is, you get to audition the director, too. And you can say, "Oh, you know what? This isn't quite a perfect fit." Not that she or he isn't a great director; it might just not be the right part to do with them at this time. Sometimes, by the time they've decided, you feel the same way, but you don't have to say anything.

BSW: Is there a secret to having longevity in this business?

DOWNEY: I didn't learn this on purpose, but I think that if you want to keep your doors open, you'll always imagine that pretty much any person in any position on any film you're doing might be the person who's hiring you in 10 years. The junior producers or the first ADs or the camera operator might be the person who gets a shot doing a series or a commercial campaign. If they remember you fondly and know that you treated them with respect, it's more convenient for them to hire you than to go look for someone who may or may not have what you have. Recognize where you status is; the actor is almost always the first person on board and the first person to not be on board anymore if they're an asshole.