Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons (born 17 October 1985) is an English actor. Following a bit part in the 2004 film Being Julia, he has gone on to major roles in films such as Red Riding Hood (2011), The Host (2013), Bitter Harvest (2017), and The Wife (2018). On television, he has had lead roles in The White Queen (2013) and Condor (2018–2020).
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Early life
Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons was born in the London Borough of Camden on 17 October 1985, the son of Irish actress Sinéad Cusack and English actor Jeremy Irons. 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 and Sorcha Cusack, and his uncle is theatre producer Pádraig Cusack.
Irons attended the Dragon School in Oxford, and Bryanston School in Dorset, before finishing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, 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.
