Robert Downey Jr. Talks Career Highs and Lows: "There Was Five Minutes When I Was Batting a Thousand"

The actor covers the debut issue of GQ Style magazine, where he opens up about some of the highs and lows of his impressive career.

Though Downey has been rumored to be one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, he thinks you can't put a "monetary figure" on his triumphs.

"First of all, could you imagine back in, let's call it the golden era ... Pacino's and De Niro's—do you think they would ever have allowed such a paltry discussion, reducing them to a monetary figure?" he asks the mag. "I have had and I have created some of the worst luck in the history of anybody in the public eye. And then there was five minutes there where I was batting a thousand."

Robert has definitely experienced some tough times in the spotlight -- he was arrested for possession of heroin in 1996 -- but, he doesn't see his "worst luck" as failures.

"I don't want to talk about failure," he explains. "I want to talk about moments of humility. Like when you feel suddenly sick and embarrassed but then you have to continue on to the next moment immediately in full view of others. Because it's not failure if you just recognize, I fell short, and that's okay."

One area where R.D.J. rarely falls short is on the big screen -- which is why he likes to choose flicks that he would actually be interested in seeing.

"Honestly, just as someone who loves movies, it's: Can I be bothered to go see that movie if that guy makes it? And I'm not saying that I only want to do quote-unquote popular mainstream movies," he says."But life is short, and ultimately I'm in a service industry. As much as I exist to do anything else, I exist to create widgets of entertainment for other people to consume. And some people, that's a big affront to their sensibilities, and I go, okay. End of the day, you are in a service industry, like Kirkland. It's that simple."

"When you're on the outside looking in, for years, for decades, only a fool misplays [success] once he's given a winning hand," he continues. "And aside from certain devastating genetic weaknesses, I am not a fool."

The "Iron Man" star says that success doesn't come easy, especially in Hollywood, and it takes years and years of hard work and rejection before most actors make some headway.

"If you always talk about all the cool stuff you're gonna do, and you don't understand why it hasn't already happened for you, because, you know [snaps fingers]… The fumes of that will get you over the first hurdle, and nothing else," he reveals. "You must learn to put your nose to the grindstone for years and not look up, no matter how much rejection is heaped on you."

While even the 51-year-old longs for the old days from time to time, he plans to age with grace.

"When I watch that movie ['Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'] I say, 'You were beautiful. And now…you just need to accept the fact that you're going to age as gracefully as possible.'"