SACRAMENTO: California’s governor has pardoned Robert Downey Jr for a 1996 drug conviction that sent the actor to prison.

Gov Jerry Brown’s office announced on December 24 that Downey Jr was among 91 people receiving pardons. Downey Jr was convicted of felony drug possession after he was arrested on a Los Angeles County highway and authorities found heroin, cocaine and a pistol in his vehicle.

In 1999, he was sent to prison for nearly a year after he acknowledged violating his probation.

Downey Jr’s life and career have rebounded, and he stars as Iron Man in Disney’s films based on the Marvel comic books. An email to Downey Jr’s publicist, Allison Garman, wasn’t immediately returned.

Brown’s website says that while a pardon doesn’t erase records of a conviction, it restores voting rights and is a public proclamation that the person has demonstrated “exemplary behaviour.”