A Rare Chat With Robert Downey Jr.

  [View in Browser]( [Esquire]( [SHOP]( EXCLUSIVE [SUBSCRIBE]( Impress your wife this holiday season. [Here are 70 gifts she won’t return.]( [The Father and His Son]( [The Father and His Son]( How do you make a documentary about a man who doesn’t have the slightest interest in talking about himself? Well, in the case of "Sr.," the Netflix documentary directed by Chris Smith (streaming tomorrow), since the subject is the underground filmmaker Robert Downey Sr., you make a movie about a man making a movie. Which is just one of the stories in this enveloping pastiche of a filmmaker and his son, Robert Downey Jr.—maybe you’ve heard of him? In an intimate, frank discussion, Downey Jr. and Smith talk about how "Sr." turned into art both unexpected and complete—and something that would make Sr. roll his eyes. [Read More](   [How the Black Dress Shirt Became a Celebrity Favorite]( [How the Black Dress Shirt Became a Celebrity Favorite]( And how you can adopt the once-maligned look for yourself. [Read More]( [It's Time to Upgrade Your Wine Glasses—And These Are the Absolute Best]( [It's Time to Upgrade Your Wine Glasses—And These Are the Absolute Best]( For an afternoon white, an evening red, and everything in between. [Read More](     [10 No-Fail Items for a Party-Ready Tabletop]( [Created by Esquire for The Home Depot]( [10 No-Fail Items for a Party-Ready Tabletop]( Stock up on festive finds you won’t be holi-dazed and confused when it comes to that dinner party. [Read More](   [The 50 Best Biographies of All Time]( [The 50 Best Biographies of All Time]( Despite its long history dating back to ancient Rome and Sumeria, biography as a genre didn’t really pop off until the middle of the twentieth century, when we became obsessed with celebrity culture. Since then, biographies of presidents, activists, artists, and musicians have regularly appeared on bestseller lists, while Hollywood continues to adapt them into Oscar bait like "A Beautiful Mind," "The Imitation Game," and "Steve Jobs." Why do we read so many books about the lives and deaths of strangers, as told by second-hand and third-hand sources? Is it merely our love for gossip, or are we trying to understand ourselves through the triumphs and failures of others? Here are the best biographies of all time. [Read More]( [80 Unique Holiday Gifts For Every Type of Dad]( [80 Unique Holiday Gifts For Every Type of Dad]( At Esquire, we know a thing or two about dads, and we’re more than prepared to tell you what to gift the man who probably likes to sit back and watch you scramble for a gift: A new luxe staple to add to his closet, a fail-safe tech upgrade he’ll actually appreciate, an affordable but still extraordinary watch, a last-minute subscription he can’t turn down, and all the more. In fact, we’ve got 80 best gifts for dad below that can prove you as the best kid he could ask for. [Read More](     [Alternate text] [My Aging Husband]( [My Aging Husband]( I have a man in my house, and he’s been aging for a long time now—I want to say 50-odd years. In my understanding, this aging process was supposed to refine all of his flavors, making him more robust yet more patient, more tenacious yet more caring. And while I have observed a notable uptick in tenderness and affection, I was under the impression, based on the novels I’ve read and the movies I’ve seen, that he’d become increasingly independent and bold and courageous over time. This has not been my experience with the man in my house. [Read More](   [Win a 4-Night Getaway to Rincon, Puerto Rico ($2,000 Value)!]( Follow Us [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Notice/Notice at Collection]( esquire.com ©2022 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019