Robert Downey Jr pardoned for drug conviction

Hollywood actor Robert Downey Jr has been pardoned for a 1996 drug conviction that the Iron Man star served jail time for.

The Christmas Eve pardon, which has become an annual tradition for the California Governor Jerry Brown, was bestowed to 90 other people, reported Variety.

The pardons are given to citizens who have shown "exemplary behaviour and have lived productive and law-abiding lives following their conviction."

Downey was caught on a Los Angeles highway and convicted of drug possession after authorities found heroin, cocaine and a pistol in his vehicle.

The 50-year-old actor spent nearly a year in prison in 1999 after violating his probation.