It May Be Oscars Week, But Robert Downey Jr. Hilariously Spent It Throwing Back To His High School Acting Award

The 97th Academy Awards aired this past weekend and, with that, the 2025 Oscar winners have been honored. Even though Hollywood’s biggest night has come and gone, many are still buzzing about the festivities. Robert Downey Jr., who was present at the ceremony, seems to have something else on his mind, though. The fan-favorite actor took some time to throw back to an award he won when he was in high school. And, yes, the video with which he did so is just as humorous as you’d expect.

Robert Downey Jr. only occasionally hops onto social media but, when he does, he more often than not manages to leave an impression. One of his latest posts features products from the beverage company he co-founded, Happy Products. In the clip, sits by a fireplace in a room stocked with the aforementioned company’s drinks. Downey then opens a can himself, before admiring the small trophy sitting in the chair right next to him. Check out the Instagram post, which features Dean Martin’s "Ain't That A Kick In The Head”:

What serves a nice touch for this post is the brief caption, “Happy is…never forgetting where you came from.” It would seem that the Oppenheimer star hasn’t forsaken his roots. Anyone who may have wondered just how early the actor dropped into the craft of acting needn’t wonder anymore. I’m impressed that he managed to win the Best Actor award while he was a student at Santa Monica High School And, to think, years later, he’d stand before his peers and accept an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor over 40 years later.

The high school accomplishment is actually even more impressive when you consider that RDJ went to school with some other future Hollywood stars. Among them are Rob Lowe (who’s still a pal to Downey), Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen and Sean Penn. That’s quite a lineup, and it’s fair to say that each and every one of them eventually managed to make their mark on the industry.

All of that aside, let’s not forget that there’s still plenty to unpack from that big Oscars night. I mean, people are still gushing about Conan O’Brien’s hosting skills as well as those goodie boxes he provided guests. Some movies managed to snag some massive awards, with Anora being among the night’s biggest winners. The film claimed five awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Mikey Madison, which has some fans uptight.

Robert Downey Jr. was on hand to present the Best Supporting Actor award, which ultimately went to A Real Pain’s Keiran Culkin. I was honestly surprised to see Downey there, considering he’s in pre-production on his next big role. He’s returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe not to reprise Iron Man but to portray Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Just recently Downey even shared a Doom-themed post for his fans on Valentine’s Day.

Few people are more entertaining than Robert Downey Jr., and his latest video is further evidence of that. It may be simply a cheeky video on the surface, but it’s also a keen reminder to never disregard your beginnings. Because, ultimately, it’s those early experiences that help shape you. And, who knows maybe, if you work hard, you’ll mess around and earn yourself an Oscar one day like Downey.