The 'Believe' hitmaker recalls that he was initially hired to perform at a wedding on the 2001 season finale of the hit TV series after show creator David E. Kelley heard him sing at a charity event.
- November 18, 2020
AceShowbiz - Robert Downey Jr.'s substance abuse issues helped Josh Groban become a star.
The "Believe" hitmaker was hired to perform at a wedding on the 2001 season finale of TV drama "Ally McBeal" after show creator David E. Kelley heard him sing at a charity event, but the episode had to be reworked due to Downey Jr.'s drug problems.
Groban initially felt sure his big moment in front of the camera had been ruined, but then something amazing happened.
"I hadn't had an album out yet, I was beyond brand new in this business...," the "You Raise Me Up" tells Access Daily. "He (Kelley) was gonna hire me as a singer for 30 seconds on the show. I was actually gonna be a wedding singer. Robert Downey, Jr. and Calista Flockhart were gonna get married... and I was just so excited to sing at what was gonna be the wedding."
"Things went down... It was not a good year, personally, for Robert Downey, Jr. - he was going through some things and he wound up not being able to film that episode, and so David E. Kelley said, 'Hey kid, can you act?' "
"He wound up writing the whole episode around this random character (Malcolm Wyatt) he came up with in 48 hours and he wound up kinda changing my life."
As for Robert, the "Avengers: Endgame" star triumphantly overcame his addiction and continued to rise to fame in t e mid to late 80s. In 1987, he impressed people in the film adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel "Less Than Zero" where he played a heroine addict.
