Between 1996 and 2001 Downey was repeatedly arrested for drug offences, served time in a California state prison, and was fired from Ally McBeal — leaving him branded uninsurable and unemployable.
- Period
- 1996–2001
- Consequences
- State prison; fired from Ally McBeal; deemed uninsurable
Downey's addiction produced a string of highly public arrests in the late 1990s for possession of heroin, cocaine and other offences. In one notorious 1996 incident he was found having wandered into a neighbour's house and fallen asleep in a child's bedroom. Repeated probation violations and relapses followed.
He served time in the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, and after further arrests was written out of the TV series Ally McBeal. By 2001 studios considered him too great an insurance risk to hire, and his career appeared to be over.
Sources
This page is an informational summary drawn from public reporting. Sensitive or disputed incidents are described as alleged; legal matters reflect the outcomes reported at the time, and the canonical account always rests with the linked sources.