Indio Downey Books First Lead Movie Role With Addiction Drama ‘Love In Vein’; ‘American Psycho’ Producer Aboard

Indio Downey, son of Robert Downey Jr, has booked his first lead role in a movie with indie pic Love In Vein.

Written and directed by Will De Los Santos (Spun), adapted from the Ryan Leone’s novel Wasting Talent, the film is being produced by Muse Productions in association with ArtHouse Gooning, with principal photography scheduled to take place in LA in March and April 2027.

Chris Hanley, whose producing credits include American Psycho, Spring Breakers and The Virgin Suicides, will produce alongside Orson Oblowitz, Tricia van Klaveren and Ben D. Wallace.

Downey will play Damien, the central character in De Los Santos’ adaptation of Leone’s “uncompromising” novel, who “navigates addiction, love and self-destruction…set against LA’s underground landscape, the film follows Damien through a fragile collision of drugs, relationships, music and survival as the people around him struggle with their own versions of desire, dependency
and escape.”

The film is being financed by Jeffrey Gliwa through Blue Shark Pictures, with Gliwa serving as executive producer. Additional casting is currently underway.

“Ryan left behind a brutally honest novel about addiction, love and Los Angeles. Since his passing, making Love In Vein has taken on an even deeper meaning for me. I want to honor his voice and the rawness of the book without softening its edges,” said De Los Santos.

For Hanley, the production marks a return to working with the Downey family. Hanley previously produced Two Girls and a Guy, starring Robert Downey Jr.

“I’m thrilled to be making another film with a Downey. I produced Two Girls and a Guy with Robert many years ago, and now getting to work with Indio on Love In Vein feels like a wonderful full-circle moment. Indio brings exactly the vulnerability and authenticity this role needs,” said Hanley.

Musician Indio, 33, is the eldest of Robert Downey Jr’s three children. He previously had fleeting parts in a handful of movies, including Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, starring his father. In an echo of the themes central to Love In Vein, Downey Jr. famously experienced his own addiction issues in the ’90s, which he overcame on his way to becoming one of the world’s highest-paid and most in-demand actors.