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Robert Downey Jr cuts short awkward interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy

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Robert Downey Jr cut short an interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy this week when the Channel 4 presenter attempted to ask the Iron Man star about his "dark periods". The seven-minute interview started to go downhill around the five minute mark when Krishnan quizzed Robert about his history of drug abuse and the time he spent in prison.

Robert, 50, was in London to promote his new film Avengers: Age of Ultron. He was his usual charming self throughout the exchange, until Krishnan asked Robert to explain a comment he made to the New York Times in 2008, in which he said, "You can't go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal."

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Robert Downey Jr cut short his interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy

Looking a little baffled by the question, Robert politely responded with a smile: "I could pick that apart for two hours and be no closer to the truth... I couldn't even really tell you what a liberal is, so therein lies the answer to your question. "Krishnan persisted, and then asked the star whether it meant that when he left prison more than ten years ago, he came out a liberal."Umm, are we promoting a movie?" responded the married father-of-three, who has famously turned his life around following his conviction and after undergoing rehab, before explaining the quote was simply how he felt on that particular day.

Robert Downey Jr full interview: star walks out when asked about past

It was Krishnan's next question about Robert’s relationship with his father that broke the camel's back. Before he could finish, Robert had stood up and started to remove his microphone, with Krishnan apologising for upsetting him. "You seem OK, it was just getting a little Diane Sawyer and you're kind of a schmuck," Robert said before leaving the room.While Robert has made no mention of the incident, Krishnan later tweeted a photo taken during the interview, with the caption: "Oh dear. Abrupt end to our Robert Downey Jr interview when we started talking about jail and drugs."

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Krishnan Guru-Murthy attempted to ask the star about his "dark periods"

He later shared a link to a video of the interview, writing: "A steely moment from Ironman. "It's not the first time Krishnan has upset a celebrity interviewee. In 2013, he clashed with Quentin Tarantino after quizzing him about whether there's a link between "enjoying movie violence and enjoying real violence".