Jeremy Irons

Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre productions, including the Shakespeare plays ''The Winter's Tale'', ''Macbeth'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''The Taming of the Shrew'', and ''Richard II''. In 1984, he made his Broadway debut in Tom Stoppard's '' The Real Thing'', receiving the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Irons's break-out role came in the ITV series '' Brideshead Revisited'' (1981) which is frequently ranked among the greatest British television dramas as well as greatest literary adaptations. It would earn him a Golden Globe Award nomination. His first major film role came in the romantic drama '' The French Lieutenant's Woman'' (1981), for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. After starring in dramas, such as ''Moonlighting'' (1982), '' Betrayal'' (1983), and '' The Mission'' (1986), he was praised for portraying twin gynaecologists in David Cronenberg's psychological thriller '' Dead Ringers'' (1988). Irons has won multiple awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his portrayal of the accused attempted murderer Claus von Bülow in ''Reversal of Fortune'' (1990).

Irons had roles in Steven Soderbergh's mystery thriller '' Kafka'' (1991), the period drama ''The House of the Spirits'' (1993), the romantic drama ''M. Butterfly'' (1993), voiced Scar in Disney's ''The Lion King'' (1994), played Simon Gruber in the action film '' Die Hard with a Vengeance'' (1995), Humbert Humbert in ''Lolita'' (1997) and Aramis in '' The Man in the Iron Mask'' (1998). He starred in the action adventure ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (2000), played Antonio in ''The Merchant of Venice'' (2004), appeared in '' Being Julia'' (2004), the historical drama ''Kingdom of Heaven'' (2005), the fantasy-adventure '' Eragon'' (2006), the Western ''Appaloosa'' (2008), and the indie drama '' Margin Call'' (2011). He appeared in ''Assassin's Creed'' (2016) before portraying Alfred Pennyworth in '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' (2016), '' Justice League'' (2017), and ''Zack Snyder's Justice League'' (2021).

On television, Irons appeared in the historical miniseries ''Elizabeth I'', receiving a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor. From 2011 to 2013, he starred as Pope Alexander VI in the Showtime historical series '' The Borgias''. In 2019, he appeared as Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias in HBO's ''Watchmen''. He is one of the few actors who have achieved the "Triple Crown of Acting" in the US, winning an Oscar for film, an Emmy for television and a Tony Award for theatre. In October 2011, he was nominated the Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Early life and education

Irons was born on 19 September 1948 in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, to Paul Dugan Irons, an accountant, and Barbara Anne Brereton Brymer (''née'' Sharpe). Irons has a brother, Christopher (born 1943), and a sister, Felicity Anne (born 1944). He was educated at the independent Sherborne School in Dorset from 1962 to 1966. He was the drummer and harmonica player in a four-man school band called the Four Pillars of Wisdom.

Acting career

Early work

Irons trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and later became president of its fundraising appeal. He performed a number of plays, and busked on the streets of Bristol, before appearing on the London stage as John the Baptist and Judas opposite David Essex in ''Godspell'', which opened at the Roundhouse on 17 November 1971 before transferring to Wyndham's Theatre playing a total of 1,128 performances.

Television

Irons's television career began on British television in the early 1970s, including appearances on the children's series '' Play Away'' and as Franz Liszt in the BBC series '' Notorious Woman'' (1974). More significantly, he starred in the 13-part adaptation of H. E. Bates's novel '' Love for Lydia'' (1977) for London Weekend Television, and attracted attention for his key role as the pipe-smoking German student, a romantic pairing with Judi Dench, in Harold Pinter's screenplay adaptation of Aidan Higgins's novel '' Langrishe, Go Down'' (1978) for BBC Television.

The role which significantly raised his profile was Charles Ryder in the television adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's '' Brideshead Revisited'' (1981). First broadcast on ITV, the show ranks among the most successful British television dramas, with Irons receiving a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. ''Brideshead'' reunited him with Anthony Andrews, with whom he had appeared in '' The Pallisers'' seven years earlier. Around the same time he starred in the film '' The French Lieutenant's Woman'' (also 1981) opposite Meryl Streep.

After these major successes, he played the leading role of an exiled Polish building contractor, working in the Twickenham area of southwest London, in Jerzy Skolimowski's independent film ''Moonlighting'' (1982). On 23 March 1991, he hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' on NBC in the US, and appeared as Sherlock Holmes in the Sherlock Holmes' Surprise Party sketch. In 2004 Irons played Severus Snape in the BBC's Comic Relief's ''Harry Potter'' parody, "Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan".

In 2005, Irons won both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role in the TV mini-series, ''Elizabeth I'', in which he starred opposite Helen Mirren (Queen Elizabeth I). A year later, he was one of the participants in the third series of the BBC documentary series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' In 2008, he played Lord Vetinari in '' Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic'', an adaptation for Sky One.

On 6 November 2008, ''TV Guide'' reported Irons would star as photographer Alfred Stieglitz with Joan Allen as painter Georgia O'Keeffe, in a Lifetime Television biopic, '' Georgia O'Keeffe'' (2009). Irons also appeared in the documentary for Irish television channel TG4, ''Faoi Lán Cheoil'', in which he is seen taking fiddle lessons from Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh.

On 12 January 2011, Irons was a guest-star in an episode of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' called "Mask". He played Dr. Cap Jackson, a sex therapist. He reprised the role on an episode titled "Totem" that ran on 30 March 2011. Irons stars in the 2011 US premium cable network Showtime's series ''The Borgias'', a highly fictionalised account of the Renaissance dynasty of that name. On 8 November 2018, it was announced that Irons had been cast as Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias in HBO's '' Watchmen'' series.

Film

Irons made his film debut in '' Nijinsky'' in 1980. In addition to ''Moonlighting'' and ''The French Lieutenant's Woman'', he appeared in the Cannes Palme d'Or winner '' The Mission'' in 1986 and in the dual role of twin gynaecologists in David Cronenberg's '' Dead Ringers'' in 1988. Irons would later win Best Actor for ''Dead Ringers'' from the New York Film Critics Circle that year. Other films include '' Danny the Champion of the World'' (1989), ''Reversal of Fortune'' (1990), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, '' Kafka'' (1991), '' Damage'' (1993), ''M. Butterfly'' (1993) working again with David Cronenberg, ''The House of the Spirits'' (1993) appearing again with Glenn Close and Meryl Streep. What's more, he lent his deep baritone voice as Scar in ''The Lion King'' (1994). Afterwards, he portrayed as Simon Gruber in '' Die Hard with a Vengeance'' (1995), co-starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, Bernardo Bertolucci's '' Stealing Beauty'' (1996), the 1997 remake of ''Lolita'', and as the musketeer Aramis opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1998 film version of '' The Man in the Iron Mask''.

Other roles include the wicked wizard Profion in the film ''Dungeons and Dragons'' (2000) and Rupert Gould in ''Longitude'' (2000). He played the Über-Morlock in the film '' The Time Machine'' (2002). In 2004, Irons played the title character in ''The Merchant of Venice''. In 2005, he appeared in the films ''Casanova'' opposite Heath Ledger, and Ridley Scott's ''Kingdom of Heaven''. He has co-starred with John Malkovich in two films, '' The Man in the Iron Mask'' (1998) and '' Eragon'' (2006), though they didn't have any scenes together in the latter.

In 2006, Irons appeared with Laura Dern in David Lynch's ''Inland Empire''. In 2008, Irons co-starred with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen in ''Appaloosa'', directed by Harris. In 2011, Irons appeared alongside Kevin Spacey in the thriller '' Margin Call''. In 2012, he starred and worked as executive producer of the environmental documentary film '' Trashed''. He portrayed the mathematician G. H. Hardy in the 2015 film ''The Man Who Knew Infinity''. Irons played Alfred Pennyworth in Warner Bros.' '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'' (2016), '' Justice League'' (2017) and the 2021 director's cut of the same film. In 2018, he played General Vladimir Korchnoi in Francis Lawrence's spy thriller film ''Red Sparrow'', based on Jason Matthews's book of the same name. In 2021, Irons played Rodolfo Gucci in Ridley Scott's biographical crime drama film '' House of Gucci''. In 2022, Irons played British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in the period spy thriller ''Munich – The Edge of War''.

Theatre

Irons has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company three times in 1976, 1986–87 and 2010. After years of success in the West End in London, Irons made his New York debut in 1984 and won a Tony Award for his Broadway performance opposite Glenn Close in '' The Real Thing''.

After an absence from the London stage for 18 years, in 2006 he co-starred with Patrick Malahide in Christopher Hampton's stage adaptation of Sándor Márai's novel '' Embers'' at the Duke of York's Theatre.

He made his National Theatre debut playing former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (1957–1963) in '' Never So Good'', a new play by Howard Brenton which opened at the Lyttelton on 19 March 2008. In 2009, Irons appeared on Broadway opposite Joan Allen in the play ''Impressionism''."Impressionism."
''The New York Times''. Retrieved 8 April 2009. The play ran through 10 May 2009 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater.

On 17 December 2017 he was awarded the XVI Europe Theatre Prize. On that occasion he performed with Isabelle Huppert ''Correspondence 1944-1959 Readings from the epistles between Albert Camus and Maria Casares'' and a special creation of Harold Pinter's '' Ashes to Ashes,'' at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.

Other ventures

Audio

Irons has had extensive voice work in a range of different fields throughout his career. He read the audiobook recording of Evelyn Waugh's '' Brideshead Revisited'', Paulo Coelho's '' ''The Alchemist'''', Vladimir Nabokov's ''Lolita'' (he had also appeared in the 1997 film version of the novel), and ''James and the Giant Peach'' by the children's author Roald Dahl.

In particular, he was praised for recording the poetry of T. S. Eliot for BBC Radio 4. Beginning in 2012 with ''The Waste Land'', he went on to record ''Four Quartets'' in 2014, ''The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'' on the centenary of its publication in 2015, and ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' in 2016. He finally completed recording the entire canon of T. S. Eliot which was broadcast over New Year's Day 2017. In 2020, Irons was one of 40 British voices to read three to four verses (broadcast daily) of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 150-verse 18th century poem ''The Rime of the Ancient Mariner''.

One of his best known film roles has turned out to be lending his distinctive voice to Scar in ''The Lion King'' (1994) serving as the main antagonist of the film. Irons has since provided voiceovers for three Disney World attractions. He narrated the '' Spaceship Earth'' ride, housed in the large geodesic globe at Epcot in Florida from October 1994 to July 2007. He was also the English narrator for the Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic at the Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris. He voiced H. G. Wells interview that he wished he had "buttoned his lip" before asking if its legalisation would see fathers marry sons.

He supports the legal availability of abortion, having said that he believes that "women should be allowed to make the decision". Irons also agreed with an abortion opponent and was quoted as saying that "the church is right to say it's a sin".

Charity work

He is the Patron of the ''"Emergency Response Team Search and Rescue"'' or
ERTSAR
which is a life saving United Nations recognised disaster response search and rescue team and registered Charity. It is based in his home County of Oxfordshire, England. He supports a number of other charities, including the Prison Phoenix Trust in England, and the London-based Evidence for Development which seeks to improve the lives of the world's most needy people by preventing famines and delivering food aid, for both of which he is an active patron. In 2000, Irons received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Olivia de Havilland during the International Achievement Summit in London.

In 2010, Irons starred in a promotional video, for "The 1billionhungry project" – a worldwide drive to attract at least one million signatures to a petition calling on international leaders to move hunger to the top of the political agenda.

Irons was named Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2011. He provided the narration of the 2013 documentary (by Andrew Lauer) ''Sahaya Going Beyond'' about the work of the charity Sahaya International.

In November 2015, Irons supported the No Cold Homes campaign by the UK charity Turn2us. Irons was one of nearly thirty celebrities, who included Helen Mirren, Hugh Laurie and Ed Sheeran, to donate items of winter clothing to the campaign, with the proceeds used to help people in the UK struggling to keep their homes warm in winter."About us: Our campaign. Jeremy Irons"
. Turn2us.org. Retrieved 1 December 2015

Irons is a patron of the Chiltern Shakespeare Company, which produces Shakespearean plays annually in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and a London-based drama school, The Associated Studios. Irons was bestowed an Honorary Life Membership by the University College Dublin Law Society in September 2008, in honour of his contribution to television, film, audio, music, and theatre. Also in 2008, Irons was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Southampton Solent University. On 20 July 2016, Irons was announced as the first Chancellor of Bath Spa University.

Personal life

Irons married Julie Hallam in 1969, but they divorced later that year. He married Irish actress Sinéad Cusack on 28 March 1978. They have two sons, Samuel "Sam" Irons (born 1978), who works as a photographer, and who co-starred with his father in ''Danny, the Champion of the World'', and Maximilian "Max" Irons (born 1985), also an actor. Both of Irons's sons have appeared in films with their father. Irons's wife and children are Catholic; Irons has also been described as a practising Catholic and has stated:

He owns Kilcoe Castle near Ballydehob, County Cork, Ireland, and had the castle painted a traditional ochre colour which was misreported as being 'pink'. He also has another Irish residence in The Liberties of Dublin, as well as a home in his birth town of Cowes, a detached house in Oxfordshire and a mews house in Notting Hill, London.

In March 2016 Irons told the BBC Radio 4 ''Today'' programme that he would refuse an invitation to the palace to accept a New Year Honour should it ever arrive: "I became an actor to be a rogue and a vagabond so I don't think it would be apt for the establishment to pull me in as one of their own, for I ain't."

In 2013 Irons said he was a smoker and an avid fan of cigars, naming Romeo y Julieta as his favourite brand. He said, "My curse is that I’m a cigarette smoker. I make my own cigarettes. So I have a tendency to inhale when I smoke a cigar. I have to keep reminding myself not to."

Acting credits

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Jeremy Irons – The Authoritative Website
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Jeremy Irons Profile
by ''The Daily Telegraph'' (13 March 2008)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irons, Jeremy
1948 births
Living people
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Annie Award winners
Audiobook narrators
Best Actor Academy Award winners
Best Actor Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners
British people of Irish descent
British people of Scottish descent
César Honorary Award recipients
Cusack family (Ireland)
David di Donatello winners
English male film actors
English male Shakespearean actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male voice actors
English people of Irish descent
English people of Scottish descent
English Roman Catholics
FAO Goodwill ambassadors
Jeremy Irons
Labour Party (UK) people
British political activists
Outstanding Narrator Primetime Emmy Award winners
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners
People educated at Sherborne School
People from Cowes
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Royal Shakespeare Company members
Tony Award winners