Marvel Superstar’s Son Lands First Leading Movie Role

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It’s been said the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and that appears to be the case with Indio Downey.

The 33-year-old son of “Avengers: Doomsday” star Robert Downey Jr. has just landed his first leading role in a motion picture.

‘Love In Vein’

According to recent report from Deadline, Indio is following in his old man’s footsteps — although don’t look for him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Instead, Indio has been cast in the starring role in “Love in Vein,” an upcoming indie film written and directed by Will De Los Santos.

He will star as the film’s protagonist, Damien, in what’s described as “a raw dark comedy that follows Damien and his drug-addled friends through addiction’s highs and lows,” based on the late Ryan Leone’s 2014 book “Wasting Talent.”

Per Deadline, the character “navigates addiction, love and self-destruction … set against LA’s underground landscape, the film follows Damien through a fragile collision of drugs, relationships, music and survival as the people around him struggle with their own versions of desire, dependency and escape.”

“Ryan left behind a brutally honest novel about addiction, love and Los Angeles. Since his passing, making ‘Love In Vein’ has taken on an even deeper meaning for me. I want to honor his voice and the rawness of the book without softening its edges,” De Los Santos told Deadline.

The film is produced by Chris Hanley, who previously worked with the “Avengers” star.

“I produced ‘Two Girls and a Guy’ with Robert many years ago, and now getting to work with Indio on ‘Love In Vein’ feels like a wonderful full-circle moment,” Hanley added. “Indio brings exactly the vulnerability and authenticity this role needs.”

Indio’s Real-Life Sobriety Journey

While his father’s issues with addiction — and ultimate conquering it — has been well documented, Indio has faced similar struggles in his own life.

“I was in a place of suffering when making [debut EP ‘Cigarettes in Bed’], but I was also praying and meditating and trying to find a way to overcome that,” Indio told People in November 2023 while discussing that release.

The EP’s track “Dume,” he exlained, was about “past addiction” he’d experienced.

“‘Dume’ is my biggest fear, but within the context of a song. It’s a metaphor for the fatal attraction to self-destruction,” he shared. “I hope people who hear the song remember that there’s beauty in the darkness.”

At the time of that interview, Indio — who had appeared in his father’s 2005 film “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” — had been sober for 18 months.

“I feel I’m going through a transformation,” he said. “I’m trying to push myself to just improve in a lot of areas that I haven’t done that need improvement. I’m changing slowly but surely.”