Robert Downey Jr. joined the cast of David E. Kelly's drama "Ellie McBeale" at the beginning of the fourth season. The play revolves around the titular role of Calista Flockhart, the young lawyer sparking a storm of debate about whether McBeal is a model of the new wave of feminism or an insult to it. The series aired on Fox (1997-2002) for five seasons, received 34 Emmy nominations, and won the best comedy series in 1999.
After a lacklustre season in the third season, "Ellie McBill" gained a foothold in season 4, most of which was attributed to Downey, who played Ellie's lover Larry Paul. Marc Berman, TV analyst at Mediaweek.com, told Entertainment Weekly, "He is definitely helpful. The performance of this show is much better than I thought. Last year it became terrible, but I want to say that it has returned to health." 2001 In 2009, Downey won the Golden Globe Award for his works in this series.
Despite his success on the screen, in April 2001, the Washington Post reported that Downey was fired by "Allie McBill", thus shortening his storyline, and at the end of episode 22, Larry Break up with Ellie with a note. What caused Downey to suddenly fall out of favor?
On April 24, 2001, ABC News reported that Robert Downey Jr. was arrested on suspicion of being affected by controlled substances. After being released from prison, Downey sent himself to the rehabilitation center. At the time, Downey was still facing legal difficulties because the police searched his hotel room last fall and found cocaine and Valium. A day later, the "Washington Post" revealed that Downey had been fired by "Ellie McBill". Kelly issued a statement saying, "We are ending the story of the last few episodes...in the season without him."
Downey's sudden withdrawal disrupted Kelly's program plan. According to the "Hollywood Report", the ending of season 4 should have ended with the wedding of Larry and Ellie, and season 5 will appear as a married couple. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in May 2001, the show’s executive producer and director Bill de Elijah refuted reports of Downey’s dismissal and stated that the actor might return in the future. "Now we must focus on acting, and Robert must focus on recovery. We don't want one person to influence another," D'Elia said. Downey did not appear in season 5.
Over the years, Robert Downey Jr’s addiction problem has been well documented, but in an interview with The New York Times in 2008, Downey revealed that he decided to stay awake in 2003 and that he had already benefited professionally . In 2008, he played Tony Stark in the movie "Iron Man", opening the prelude to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This role can be said to have changed his life. The following year, he was nominated for the second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Kirk Lazarus in "Tropical Thunder".
In March, TVLine reported that the "Ally McBeal" limited series revival is underway, and Kelly and Flockhart may join in some capacity. However, the project is still in the early stages of development. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, "When asked whether he would consider restarting any of his shows, Kelly said, "I do think that because gender politics is an important part of'Ellie McBill', It is becoming very relevant and mature. Therefore, I am open to the idea of completing "Ally McBeal" again, but I don't think this should be done by me. If you want to do this, it really should be done by a woman. If it is new, it should be new and different. "
Whether Downey will return to "Ellie McBill" in any capacity remains to be seen, but fans can certainly dream of it.