Biography

October 31, 1944 · Newfoundland, Canada

5′ 11″ (1.80 m)

Shortly after Lexx ended, he was mugged and brutally beaten at an ATM machine. On his website, he has written about the long and difficult recovery, that kept him from acting for some time.

On graduation from high school, found a 'respectable' job as a chief clerk in a bank, but it was too boring for him. Over time, played guitar and bass with a succession of local groups, among them the East End Blues Band. Broke into acting later on.

Hobo with a Shotgun director Jason Eisener had originally thought of casting wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts for the role of The Drake, but when he saw Downey's audition tape, he realized that he was the man for the job.

Bad movies are a real education because you say "look at that, what was that close up, those two shots don't match! That performance was so bad, why did that guy do that? I would never do that!" And so in a sense while you're watching something that's really awful, you're playing along and reviewing it and saying "No, I wouldn't have done it that way, this way's much better".