Downey admits to Googling himself

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Hollywood actor and freshly minted Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr. admits he sometimes checks the Internet to see what people are saying about him.

Downey, who starred in last year's blockbusters "Iron Man" and "Tropic Thunder," made the revelation during an awards season round table set up by Newsweek and including Downey's fellow Oscar nominees Mickey Rourke, Anne Hathaway, Brad Pitt and Frank Langella, E! News reported.

Asked if they ever Google themselves, Pitt reportedly said: "Dear God. No. Never. First of all, I don't really know how to operate a computer."

E! said Langella and Hathaway also denied peeking at online reports about themselves, while Rourke remained quiet.

Downey, however, candidly offered: "Oh, I love all that (expletive) personally. Sorry. I love just it. Because it's a hoot. Some people overstate their support, like they know you. Other people are busy doing something else and just want to go on this chat site and say some despicable character assassination, which I honestly think: 'They kind of nailed it. I do have that shortcoming.' It's really fun."

"OK, I have a confession," Hathaway chimed in. "I lied before when you asked if I Googled myself. I do. I'm embarrassed by it because I know how terrible it is. ... For a while, it cracked me up. I found a ton of humor in it. But recently it's changed. There's a big difference now where information is being reported as news. And I'm very uncomfortable with that."