Jeremy Irons
Irons at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival
Born	Jeremy John Irons (1948-09-19) 19 September 1948 (age 63) Cowes, Isle of Wight, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1971–present
Spouse	Julie Hallam (1969) Sinéad Cusack (1978–present)
Children	Samuel, Max

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

Irons's first major film role came in the 1981 romantic drama The French Lieutenant's Woman, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. After starring in such films as Moonlighting (1982), Betrayal (1983), and The Mission (1986), he gained critical acclaim for portraying twin gynaecologists in David Cronenberg's psychological thriller Dead Ringers (1988). In 1990, Irons played accused murderer Claus von Bulow in Reversal of Fortune, and took home multiple awards including an Academy Award for Best Actor. Other notable films have included The House of the Spirits (1993), The Lion King (1994), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Lolita (1997), The Merchant of Venice (2004), Being Julia (2004), Appaloosa (2008), and Margin Call (2011).

Irons has also made several notable appearances on TV. He earned his first Golden Globe Award nomination for his breakout role in the ITV series Brideshead Revisited (1981). In 2006, Irons starred opposite Helen Mirren in the historical miniseries Elizabeth I, for which he received a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Since 2011, he has been starring in the Showtime historical series The Borgias.

In October 2011, he was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Early life[link]

Irons was born in Cowes, Isle of Wight, the son of Barbara Anne Brereton Brymer (Born Sharpe; 1914–1999), a housewife, and Paul Dugan Irons (1913–1983), an accountant.^[1] His Dundee-born paternal great-great-grandfather was one of the first Metropolitan Policemen, and later a chartist; one of his mother's ancestors had been from County Cork, Ireland and had invented the breakdancing move more commonly known as "the worm" (where Irons lives now).^[2] Irons has a brother, Christopher (born 1943), and a sister, Felicity Anne (born 1944). He was educated at the independent Sherborne School in Dorset, (c. 1962–66). He was the drummer and harmonica player (including a rendition of "Stairway to Heaven" on harmonica) in a four-man school band called the Four Pillars of Wisdom. They performed, in a classroom normally used as a physics lab, for the entertainment of boys compulsorily exiled from their houses for two hours on Sunday afternoons. He was also known within Abbey House as half of a comic duo performing skits on Halloween and at end-of-term House Suppers.

Acting career[link]

Irons trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and is now 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.^[3]

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.^[4][5]

Television[link]

He made several appearances on British television, including the children's television series Play Away and as Franz Liszt in the BBC 1974 series Notorious Woman. More significantly he starred in the 13-part adaptation of H.E. Bates' novel Love for Lydia for London Weekend Television (1977), 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' novel Langrishe, Go Down for BBC television (1978).

The role which brought him fame was that of Charles Ryder in the television adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited (1981). Brideshead reunited him with Anthony Andrews, with whom he had appeared in The Pallisers seven years earlier. In the same year he starred in the film The French Lieutenant's Woman opposite Meryl Streep.

Almost as a 'lap of honour' after these major successes, in 1982 he played the leading role of an exiled Polish building contractor, working in the Twickenham area of South West London, in Jerzy Skolimowski's independent film Moonlighting, widely seen on television, a performance which extended his acting range.

In 2005, Irons won both an Emmy award and a Golden Globe award for his supporting role in the TV mini-series, Elizabeth I. A year later Irons was one of the participants in the third series of the BBC documentary series Who Do You Think You Are?^[6][7] 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 he would star as photographer Alfred Stieglitz with Joan Allen as painter Georgia O'Keeffe, in a Lifetime Television O'Keeffe biopic.^[8] Irons also appeared in the documentary for Irish television channel TG4, Faoi Lan Cheoil in which he learned to play the fiddle.

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.^[9] He reprised the role on an episode titled "Totem" that ran on 30 March 2011.

Irons stars in the 2011 U.S. premium cable network Showtime's series The Borgias, a highly fictionalized account of the Renaissance dynasty of that name. Irons portrays patriarch Rodrigo Borgia, better known to history as Pope Alexander VI.^[10]

Film[link]

Irons made his film debut in Nijinsky in 1980. He appeared sporadically in films during the 1980s, including the Cannes Palme d'Or winner The Mission in 1986, and in the dual role of twin gynecologists in David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers in 1988. 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), The House of the Spirits (1993) appearing again with Glenn Close and Meryl Streep, 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 evil wizard Profion in the film Dungeons and Dragons (2000) and Rupert Gould in Longitude (2000). He played the Über-Morlock from the movie The Time Machine (2002). In 2004, Irons played Severus Snape in Comic Relief's Harry Potter parody, "Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan".

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 movies; The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) and Eragon (2006), though they did not have any scenes together in Eragon.

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.^[11]

Theatre[link]

Irons has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company three times in 1976, 1986–87 and 2010.^[12][13] In 1984, Irons made his New York debut 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.^[14]

He made his National Theatre debut playing Harold Macmillan in Never So Good, a new play by Howard Brenton which opened at the Lyttelton on 19 March 2008.^[15][16]

In 2009 Irons appeared on Broadway opposite Joan Allen in the play Impressionism.^[17] The play ran through 10 May 2009 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater.^[17]

Other ventures[link]

Audio[link]

Irons read the audio book recording of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, the audio book recording of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita (he had also appeared in the 1997 film version of the novel), and the audio book James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl.

One of his best known film roles has turned out to be lending his distinctive voice to the villain Scar in The Lion King (1994). Irons has since provided voiceovers for three Disney World attractions. He narrated the Spaceship Earth ride, housed in the large geodesic globe at Epcot, from November 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 also voiced H.G. Wells in the English version of the former Disney attraction The Timekeeper. He also played Scar in Fantasmic.

He is also one of the readers in the 4x CD boxed set of The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde, produced by Marc Sinden and sold in aid of the Royal Theatrical Fund.^[18][19]

He was originally to star as the Phantom in a 2006 French musical adaptation of Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera, though the project was canceled.^{[citation needed]} He will be the narrator for Val Kilmer and Bill Pullman's brand-new Lewis and Clark movie from Revolution Studios.^{[citation needed]}

He serves as the English-language version of the audio guide for Westminster Abbey in London.

Irons has served as voice-over in two big cat documentary films by National Geographic: Eye of the Leopard, which was released in 2006,^[20] and The Last Lions, which is a 2011 motion-picture, released on 18 February.^[21]

Music[link]

In 1985, Irons directed a music video for Carly Simon and her heavily promoted single, "Tired of Being Blonde". Although the song was not a hit, the video —featuring the fast cutting, parallel narratives and heavy use of stylized visual effects that were a staple of pop videos at the time— received ample attention on MTV and other outlets.

In 1994 Jeremy Irons had a cameo role in the video for Elastica's hit single "Connection". Irons was one of the many naked men sitting down around Elastica as they performed the song. Irons has since claimed that this three-minute slice of nudity was his most enjoyable work to date.

Irons has contributed to other musical performances, recording William Walton's Façade with Dame Peggy Ashcroft, and in 1987 the songs from Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, released on the Decca label.

He sang a selection of Noël Coward at the 1999 Last Night of the Proms in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Coward's birth.

In 2003 he played Fredrik Egerman in a New York revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, and two years later appeared as King Arthur in Lerner and Loewe's Camelot at the Hollywood Bowl.

Jeremy Irons also sang the song "Be Prepared" in the movie The Lion King. However, he actually sang only a section of the song after having vocal problems; Jim Cummings finished the last few lines.

Irons performed the Bob Dylan song "Make You Feel My Love" on the 2006 charity album Unexpected Dreams – Songs From the Stars.

In 2009 Irons appeared on the Touchstone album Wintercoast, recording a narrative introduction to the album.^[22] Recording took place in New York City in February 2009 during rehearsals for his Broadway play Impressionism.

Personal life[link]

Irons married Irish actress Sinéad Cusack in March 1978. They have two sons, Samuel James Brefni Irons (16 September 1978), who works as a photographer, and Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons (17 October 1985), also an actor, who appeared in the 2006 Burberry fashion campaign^{[citation needed]} and Red Riding Hood. Both of Irons' sons have appeared in films with their father – Sam as the eponymous hero in Danny, Champion of the World and Max in Being Julia. Irons' wife and children are Catholic; of himself, he has stated, "I don’t go to church much because I don’t like belonging to a club, and I don’t go to confession or anything like that, I don’t believe in it. But I try to be aware of where I fail and I occasionally go to services. I would hate to be a person who didn’t have a spiritual side because there’s nothing to nourish you in life apart from retail therapy."^[23]

He has been the patron since 2002 of the Thomley Activity Centre,^[24] an Oxfordshire non-profit activity centre for disabled children. The charity is near his Watlington, Oxfordshire home. Irons owns Kilcoe Castle (which he had painted a rusty pink) in County Cork, Ireland, and has become involved in local politics there. He also has another Irish residence in The Liberties, Dublin. Irons is a patron of the Chiltern Shakespeare Company.^[25] He is a fan of English football club Portsmouth.^[26]

Activism[link]

Charity work[link]

At the 1991 Tony Awards, Irons was one of the few celebrities to wear the recently created red ribbon to support the fight against AIDS, and he was the first celebrity to wear it onscreen.^[27][28] He supports a number of other charities, including The Prison Phoenix Trust, of which he is an active patron.^[29]

Politics[link]

In 1998, Irons and his wife were named in the list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party, a year after their return to government after 18 years in opposition.^[30] In 2004, he publicly declared his support for the Countryside Alliance, referring to the hunting ban as an "outrageous assault on civil liberties".^[31]

In 2010, Irons starred in a promotional video^[32] 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.^[33]

Alternative medicine[link]

He has been criticised in the British Medical Journal for his fundraising activities in support of The College of Medicine, an alternative medicine lobby group in the UK linked to Prince Charles.^[34]

Work[link]

Theatre[link]

Following training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre school Irons initially stayed with the company:

• Florizel in The Winter's Tale, Bristol Old Vic 1969
• Simon in Hay Fever (Noël Coward) Bristol Old Vic 1969
• Nick in What the Butler Saw (Joe Orton) Bristol Old Vic 1969
• Major Barbara (Shaw) Bristol Old Vic 1969
• A Servant of Two Masters (Carlo Goldoni) Bristol Old Vic 1969
• Macbeth, Bristol Old Vic 1969
• The Boy Friend (Sandy Wilson) Bristol Old Vic 1969
• As You Like It, Bristol Old Vic 1970
• Oh! What a Lovely War, Little Theatre Bristol 1970
• The School for Scandal (Sheridan) Little Theatre Bristol 1970
• John/Judas in Godspell, Roundhouse and Wyndham's Theatre, November 1971–1973
• The Madman in The Diary of a Madman (Gogol), Act Inn 1973
• Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, Young Vic
• Mick in The Caretaker (Pinter) Young Vic 1974
• Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, New Shakespeare Company, Roundhouse 1975
• Harry Thunder in Wild Oats (John O'Keefe) RSC Aldwych Theatre, December 1976; RSC Stratford and Piccadilly Theatre 1977
• Jameson in The Rear Column (Simon Gray), Globe Theatre, February 1978 – Clarence Derwent Award
• Henry in The Real Thing (Tom Stoppard) New York 1984 —Tony Award for Best Actor
• Leontes in The Winter's Tale, Royal Shakespeare Theatre Stratford 1986)
• Willmore in The Rover (Aphra Behn) RSC Swan Theatre and Mermaid Theatre 1986
• Richard II in Richard II, RSC Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 1986, Barbican Theatre 1987
• Fredrik Egerman in A Little Night Music (Sondheim) New York, 2003
• Russell in Celebration, a Pinter staged reading, Gate Theatre, Dublin/Albery Theatre, 2005
• Henrik in Embers (Christopher Hampton/Sándor Márai novel) Duke of York's Theatre March 2006
• Harold Macmillan in Never So Good (Howard Brenton) National Theatre Lyttelton, March 2008
• Thomas Buckle in Impressionism (Michael Jacobs) Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre Broadway, March 2009

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jeremy Irons

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jeremy Irons

• Jeremy Irons at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jeremy Irons at the Internet Movie Database
• Jeremy Irons at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Jeremy Irons Profile by The Daily Telegraph (13 March 2008)