Date of Birth

17 December 1985, Camden, London, England, UK

Birth Name

Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons

Height

6' 2½" (1.89 m)

Trivia

• Younger brother of Samuel Irons.
• Grandson of Cyril Cusack and Maureen Cusack.
• Nephew of Niamh Cusack, Sorcha Cusack, Paul Cusack, Pádraig Cusack and Catherine Cusack.
• Son of Jeremy Irons and Sinéad Cusack.
• Was a model for Burberry.
• Graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2008.
• Maternal half-brother of Irish politician Richard Boyd Barrett.
• Good friends with his The Host (2013) co-star, Jake Abel.
• He is of English and Irish descent.

Quotes

• I suppose I was about 15 when I started getting roles, and we have this thing at my school that's a festival, and I did a play and I just thought, This is as much fun as you can legally have. And then I applied to drama school, which is quite a competitive business in England, and I managed to get it, and it boosted my confidence a little bit. It was a gradual thing, there was no epiphany moment.
• (on what appeals to him in a woman) I appreciate a natural look, as opposed to too made up. Kindness and a generous spirit go a long way. And a sense of humor. It's like medicine - very healing. A woman who isn't preoccupied with superficial things, who knows what is real and important. Someone who is willing to slum it every now and then. But mainly, whatever makes her happy!
• I like reading, free diving and hiking. But my favorite thing to do is travel anywhere in Greece. I love everything about that place.
• (on getting ready for his role in The Host) The most effective part of my workout has been interval runs. That is where you power-up the treadmill and run as fast as you can for about six to ten seconds. Then you slow down for about 24 seconds, still keeping your heart rate up. You do this for a total of 10-15 minutes, depending on how conditioned you are. If you do it with the proper form, you'll get a great overall workout, strengthen your heart and burn some calories. It's intense.
• [on preparing for his role in The Host] I have to go to the gym six days a week for my next movie, and I hate it. As soon as the session is over, I light a cigarette! I prefer London to LA: it rains, it's sad but I like going to the pub after work and here people don't have plastic surgery.
• The problem with Hollywood is that, for actors of my age, you don't really have plenty of choices. You have to wait until you are 30, 40. Even if The Host looks like Red Riding Hood, it's a movie which is gonna do well, which means more work for me.
• I play the guitar. I used to perform at school - and, once, I played in front of 650 people. I thought I did quite well - but, two years ago, a close friend of mine said to me, "Remember when you sang at school? You were shit!"
• I like to think that at the end of a show you can just take your costume off and go to the pub.
• [on meeting fans] We actually got sick because you shake a lot of hands, and we don't really do the hand sanitizer thing in England, especially if you shake someone's hand and kinda go (rubs hands together). It doesn't send a good message. But yeah, a lot of hugging, a lot of handshakes.
• I'd done a couple of Hollywood franchise films and I didn't really want to do a third. But I went for the audition anyway. And that was the feedback: "Not young and pretty." I thought: "Great - now the really interesting roles will come my way."
• Both of my parents firmly believe this business is largely based on luck. When I said I wanted to be an actor, they both told me to be under no illusions and to never think that my life would be like theirs, because they'd been lucky. I think it was very good advice.
• When you've got parents who've done what you want to do, as much as they're proud of you, they can't be as amazed by it, because they've done it themselves. The only person I can amaze is me. I've got to do it for me. So fuck the world, to an extent.