Susan Downey - Biography

Susan Nicole Downey (born Susan Nicole Levin; November 6, 1973) is an American film producer. Until February 2009 she was Co-President of Dark Castle Entertainment and Executive Vice President of Production at Silver Pictures, Joel Silver's production company, but has since stepped down to work more closely with her husband, actor Robert Downey, Jr. The couple have formed their own production house entitled "Team Downey".

Early life

Susan Levin was born in Schaumburg, Illinois to a Jewish family, where she graduated valedictorian from Schaumburg High School in 1991. Interested in pursuing a career in film production, Levin moved to California and graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinema/Television. She began her career at New Line Cinema, where she did uncredited production work on Mortal Kombat in 1995 and its 1997 sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and spearheaded the development of the 1998 live action TV prequel, Mortal Kombat: Conquest.

Silver Pictures

Downey held the dual posts of Co-President of Dark Castle Entertainment and Executive Vice President of Production at Silver Pictures. Joining Silver Pictures in 1999, she oversaw the development and production of feature films released under both banners, including Thir13en Ghosts and Swordfish.

In 2002, she made her producing debut as a co-producer on Ghost Ship and then co-produced the 2003 release Cradle 2 the Grave Downey went on to produce the features “Gothika” and House of Wax, and also served as an executive producer on the critically acclaimed comedic thriller Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.

Downey later produced Neil Jordan’s acclaimed psychological drama The Brave One,starring Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard; Guy Ritchie’s widely praised crime comedy RocknRolla, starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, Idris Elba, Chris Bridges and Jeremy Piven; the horror thriller Orphan, starring Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard; and the thriller Whiteout, starring Kate Beckinsale.

She was also an executive producer on the Hughes brothers’ post-apocalyptic drama The Book of Eli, starring Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.”

Sherlock Holmes

Downey was working on production for Guy Ritchie's crime film RocknRolla, during which her husband Robert Downey, Jr., visited her office at Silver Pictures and learned about Ritchie's plans for a new Sherlock Holmes film; at her husband's request, Susan set up a meeting with Ritchie, and soon the film had Robert Downey, Jr. as its lead. The film became the first time since 2005's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang that the Downeys had worked together, and according to Robert Downey, Jr., the couple enjoyed it very much because they did not have to "miss each other" during the long production.

Sherlock Holmes opened to good reviews and record-breaking box office over the Christmas holiday in 2009. It was the couple's most financially successful joint venture to date, and netted Robert Downey, Jr. his third Golden Globe Award, his first for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. In his satirical, self-deprecating acceptance speech, he started off by thanking his wife: "First of all, I would like to thank Susan Downey for telling me that Matt Damon was going to win, 'so don't bother to prepare a speech.' That was at about 10AM." He continued his speech by noting all the people he supposedly wasn't going to thank (indirectly thanking them for giving him a chance to be in the movie) and again singled out his wife for tribute: "I mean, I really don't want to thank my wife, because I could be bussing tables at the Daily Grill right now if not for her. Jesus, what a gig that'd be."

Post-Silver Pictures

Susan worked with the production staff of Iron Man 2 alongside her husband, allowing the couple to work together again after Sherlock Holmes completed production.

Team Downey

In June 2010, Robert and Susan Downey announced the formation of their Warner Bros.-based production company Team Downey, and hired David Gambino to be president of production. Their first producing project is Yucatan, a heist film originally crafted by Steve McQueen as a star vehicle for himself.

Columbia Pictures announced on October 20 it had optioned the rights to Neil Strauss' non-fiction 2009 bestseller Emergency! This Book Will Save Your Life. The book is to be developed into a feature produced by Team Downey.

The Downeys are also developing a musical project for Warner Bros. from a pitch by "Next to Normal" composers Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt.

On March 23, 2011, Warner Bros. announced that Team Downey would produce the family drama The Judge.

Team Downey will also produce the tragic, shark-infested tale of the "USS Indianapolis (CA-35)", told through the eyes of Hunter Scott.

Personal life

Levin's first full-credit producer job was for the 2003 thriller Gothika, starring Halle Berry and Levin's future husband, actor Robert Downey, Jr. Downey — who was in the process of divorcing his first wife Deborah Falconer — has said that his most memorable recollection about shooting Gothika was "romancing the producer"; Levin admitted to James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio that while she thought Downey was "an amazing actor that we were lucky to have in our movie", her first impression of him was that he was "weird". The two quietly struck up a romance — though she turned down his romantic advances twice for fear that their relationship would not last through the completion of shooting because "he's an actor; I have a real job" — and Downey proposed to Levin the night before her thirtieth birthday. The couple went public with their relationship in 2003, and were married on August 27, 2005 in a Jewish ceremony at Amagansett, New York.

Downey credits his wife with helping him kick his drug and alcohol habits. "The old saying is true — behind every good man there's an incredible woman. I owe a huge amount — if not all — of my success to Susan. We make a great team, and all that luck I spoke about, that's Susan." Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie describes the couple as "the greatest illustration of a symbiotic marriage that I've ever seen. It's a real yin and yang, and it's made him a joy to work with. Robert would be a pain in the ass if he didn't have Susan to police him." One of his biceps reads "Suzie Q" in an inky tribute to her.

The couple are expecting their first child in February 2012.

Filmography

External links