12. He Got Let Out Of Rehab For One Day To Do A Music Video For Elton John
In 2001, Elton John was in the process of recording his new album, and had enlisted director Sam Taylor-Johnson to come up with a video for the song I Want Love. Sam's idea was simple but effective. She wanted to have a lone male walking around an empty house lip-syncing to the words - the only problem was that she wanted Robert Downey, Jr., and he was currently in rehab. Speaking to MTV, she said "I thought, God, the lyrics are very close to home. I wonder if he'll do it. He was very interested and it all came together in five or six days. We sent him the album and he said yes. I'm thrilled with it. I love the fact that it is a one-shot video. He did 16 takes and they used the very last one because he was completely relaxed by then. It's so pertinent to what he was going through, and the way he underplays it is fantastic".
WhatCulture's Managing Editor and Chief Reporter | Previously seen in Vice, Esquire, FourFourTwo, Sabotage Times, Loaded, The Set Pieces, and Mundial Magazine