Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons (born 17 October 1985) is an English and Irish actor.
He is known for his roles in films such as ''
Red Riding Hood'' (2011), ''
The White Queen'' (2013), ''
The Host'' (2013), ''
Woman in Gold'' (2014), ''
The Riot Club'' (2014), ''
Bitter Harvest'' (2017), and ''
The Wife'' (2018). He also starred in the spy thriller series ''
Condor
Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua language, Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.
One species, the And ...
'' (2018–2020).
Early life
Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons was born in the
London Borough of Camden
The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...
[''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com] on 17 October 1985,
the son of Irish actress
Sinéad Cusack
Sinéad Moira Cusack ( ; born 18 February 1948) is an Irish actress. Her first acting roles were at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, before moving to London in 1969 to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has won the Critics' Circle and ''Eve ...
and English actor
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, ...
. He has an older brother, Samuel Irons, who is a photographer.
Their mother's family was deeply involved with theatre: they are the grandsons of actors
Cyril Cusack and
Maureen Cusack.
Through his mother, Irons is a half-brother of politician
Richard Boyd Barrett; his aunts are the actresses
Niamh Cusack
Niamh Cusack ( ; born 20 October 1959) is an Irish actress. Born into a family with deep roots in the performing arts, she has performed extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and other prominent theatre ens ...
and
Sorcha Cusack
Sorcha Cusack (; born 9 April 1949) is an Irish television and stage actress. Her numerous television credits include playing the title role in ''Jane Eyre'' (1973), '' Casualty'' (1994–1997), ''Coronation Street'' (2008) and '' Father Brown' ...
, and his uncle is theatre producer
Pádraig Cusack.
Irons attended the
Dragon School in
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, and
Bryanston School
Bryanston School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the ...
in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
,
before finishing at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...
, where he graduated in 2008. He was dyslexic and struggled in school, as the teaching methods did not suit his learning style. His father discouraged him from going into an acting career. While first starting off in acting, Irons worked as a barman.
Career
Acting
In 2011, Irons played Henry in
Catherine Hardwicke's ''
Red Riding Hood''.
He was chosen to play Jared Howe in the 2013 film adaptation of ''
The Host'', based on
Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer (; Morgan; born December 24, 1973) is an American novelist and film producer. She is best known for writing the vampire literature, vampire romance series ''Twilight (novel series), Twilight'', which has sold over 160 million ...
's science fiction
novel of the same name.
In the 2013 television series ''
The White Queen'', Irons took the leading role of
Edward IV of England
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
. The series, based on
Philippa Gregory
Philippa Gregory (born 9 January 1954) is an English historical novelist who has been publishing since 1987. The best known of her works is ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2001), which in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Roman ...
's best-selling historical novel series ''
The Cousins' War'', was broadcast weekly on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
, ending on 18 August 2013. Irons appeared in ''
The Riot Club'' (2014), the film adaptation of the play ''
Posh''. In 2016, he starred in the ITV miniseries ''
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...
'' as archeologist
Howard Carter
Howard Carter (9 May 18742 March 1939) was a British archaeologist and Egyptology, Egyptologist who Discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, discovered Tomb of Tutankhamun, the intact tomb of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty Pharaoh ...
. In April 2017, producers announced Irons had been cast to play Joe Turner, the role created by
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...
in ''
Three Days of the Condor'' (1975), in a
television series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
based on the movie.
[ He also joined Lifetime's movie adaptation of ''Flowers in the Attic''.]
That year he starred in the film ''Crooked House
''Crooked House'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1949 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 23 May of the same year.
The action takes place in and near Lo ...
'' (2017), based on a 1949 novel by Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...
of the same name. Terence Stamp
Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Known for his sophisticated villain roles, he was named by ''Empire (magazine), Empire'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades in ...
, Glenn Close
Glenda Veronica Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. In a career spanning over five decades on Glenn Close on screen and stage, screen and stage, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Glenn Close, numerous ac ...
, Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and activist. She is best known for her roles as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the sci-fi series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002; 2016–2018), Lily Bart in the dr ...
, and Stefanie Martini also are among the large cast in the film.
Modelling
Irons has modelled for companies including Burberry
Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and headquartered in London, England. It designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear. It is l ...
and Mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...
. As of 2012, he was on a modelling contract for Macy's I.N.C. collection for Fall/Winter 2012. In 2015, he was named one of '' GQ''s 50 best-dressed British men.
Personal life
In 2013, Irons began dating ''Tatler
''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...
'' fashion director Sophie Pera. They were married in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
on 30 November 2019. The couple had a daughter in 2023.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irons, Max
1985 births
Living people
Actors with dyslexia
Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
British people of Irish descent
Cusack family (Ireland)
English expatriates in South Korea
English male film actors
English male models
English male television actors
English actors with disabilities
Irish expatriates in South Korea
Irish male film actors
Irish male models
Irish male television actors
Irish people of British descent
Irish people with disabilities
Male actors from London
Actors educated at Bryanston School
People educated at The Dragon School
Actors from the London Borough of Camden
21st-century English male actors
Models from the London Borough of Camden