Shirt by Prada; vintage trousers, stylist’s own; boots by Christian Louboutin; Love ring by Cartier; cable inset band ring by David Yurman; reverso tribute chronograph by Jaeger-LeCoultre; pendants, Downey Jr.’s own. Image by Norman Jean Roy.

Last year Robert Downey Jr. hired the host of the television show ‘My Cat from Hell’ to create Catification Zones on the Malibu property the actor shares with his wife Susan, kids Avri and Exton and cats Monty and two little kittens Willow and Winifred.

Reality is that there are hawks in Malibu and Downey knew he would be kicked to the curb if anything happened to the little felines.

Writer Ryan D’Agostino brings this Hollywood family to life with Robert Downey Jr. Doesn’t See Things the Way You Do in the April-May 2024 issue of Esquire. The actor is styled by Alison Edmond in images by Norman Jean Roy [IG].

Shirt and tie by Bottega Veneta; vintage long johns, stylist’s own; boots by Marsèll; bracelet by the Crown Collection; ringby Howl; Oyster Perpetual watch by Rolex. Image by Norman Jean Roy.

Downey Jr. famously compared himself to a cat in his March 2024 Oscars acceptance speech for best supporting actor in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer“.

“I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and the Academy — in that order,” Downey quipped from the stage at the start of his speech, saying “I’d like to thank my veterinarian — I meant wife, Susan Downey over there. She found me a snarling rescue pet and you loved me back to life. That’s why I’m here.”

Downey’s Oscar completed a clean sweep of the film awards season, with his supporting actor “Oppenheimer” wins at the Golden Globes, Critic’s Choice Awards, SAG Awards and BAFTA Film Awards. His role was playing Admiral Lewis Strauss, the American financier and government official who served as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and collided with the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, often called the “father of the atomic bomb.”

Ina probable sign of his intellectual depth Downey, a student of American history, had considerable knowledge about Strauss even before director [Sir] Christopher Nolan asked him to play the role in “Oppenheimer”.

Jacket and trousers by Givenchy; tank by Calvin Klein; necklace, Downey Jr.’s own. Image by Norman Jean Roy.

Writer D’Agostino shares the moment when he spilled his coffee one minute into the interview. This incident is every writer’s nightmare.

“No, don’t touch it!” Downey exlaimed. “It’s perfect.” In that moment, the writer lost control of the interview but learned a life lesson.

By pretending that my klutz move was an act of inadvertent artistic creation, Downey has, in this moment, saved me from humiliation. I didn’t know it then, but it was clear when I listened to the tape later that from that moment on, for the next five hours, this interview would be different. He would lead, and I would follow, and it would hardly clock as an interview at all but rather a sort of conversation. In fact, it would be unlike any conversation I had ever had in my life.

If you want to share more details about the details of Robert Downey Jr’s daily existenc, return to Esquire to meet the alpacas [Dandy, Fuzzy, Sadie, Jess, and Buttercup], the goats [Cutieboots, Memo, Zoltar, and Pepper—the only one Downey’s kids let him name] and any other animals who have popped in for a visit.

This interview is absolutely fantastic — probably because Robert Downey Jr. was in charge.