Max Irons is an English actor and model who has built a steady career in film and television for more than twenty years. Many people first know him as the son of Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons, but his own list of credits is long enough to stand on its own. He has played a medieval king in The White Queen, a young CIA analyst in Condor, the archaeologist Howard Carter in Tutankhamun, and, most recently, Mycroft Holmes in the Prime Video hit Young Sherlock. This guide brings together everything people usually want to know about him, including his age, family, education, best-known work, personal life, and the projects coming next, all checked against multiple sources and updated for October 2026.
Max Irons at a Glance
- Full name: Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons
- Born: 17 October 1985, in Camden, London, England
- Age: 40 (he turns 41 on 17 October 2026)
- Nationality: British and Irish
- Occupation: Actor and model
- Parents: Jeremy Irons and Sinéad Cusack
- Education: Dragon School, Bryanston School, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (graduated 2008)
- Spouse: Sophie Pera (married 30 November 2019)
- Children: One daughter, born in 2023
- Known for: The White Queen, The Host, The Riot Club, The Wife, Condor, Young Sherlock
Who Is Max Irons?
Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons was born in the London Borough of Camden on 17 October 1985. His father, Jeremy Irons, is an English actor, and his mother, Sinéad Cusack, is an Irish actress, which is why Max holds both British and Irish citizenship. He has an older brother, Samuel Irons, who works as a photographer. Through his mother he is also the half-brother of Richard Boyd Barrett, an Irish politician.
Acting runs deep on his mother’s side as well. His grandfather was the Irish actor Cyril Cusack, and his aunts Niamh Cusack and Sorcha Cusack are both well-known actresses. Growing up in a family like this made a life in the arts feel natural, yet it did not make the path easy. Irons has been open over the years about being dyslexic and finding school difficult because the teaching methods did not suit the way he learned. His father also discouraged him from becoming an actor at first, and Max worked as a barman while he was starting out.
Education and Early Training
Irons attended the Dragon School in Oxford and then Bryanston School in Dorset before moving on to drama training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he graduated in 2008. His professional stage debut came in 2009 in Friedrich Schiller’s Wallenstein at the Chichester Festival Theatre, a performance that earned him a nomination for the respected Ian Charleson Award, which recognises outstanding classical stage work by young actors. He returned to the stage in 2013 in Farragut North at the Southwark Playhouse in London.
His screen career began even earlier, with a small part as a curtain call boy in the 2004 film Being Julia. In 2009 he appeared as Lucius in the film Dorian Gray, and in 2011 he played Tommy Pasqualino in the Sky thriller miniseries The Runaway, which marked his first notable television role.
Career Breakthrough: Red Riding Hood and The Host
The year 2011 brought Irons his first big international exposure when he played Henry Lazar in Red Riding Hood, a fantasy thriller directed by Catherine Hardwicke and starring Amanda Seyfried and Shiloh Fernandez. Two years later he took the male lead of Jared Howe in The Host, the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s science fiction novel, opposite Saoirse Ronan. These two films introduced him to a young global audience and led to a period when he was often described as a rising Hollywood heartthrob, though he has said in interviews that he did not want to be locked into teen films for long.
The White Queen and a Turn Toward Period Drama
In 2013 he took a different direction by playing King Edward IV of England in The White Queen, the BBC historical drama based on Philippa Gregory’s The Cousins’ War novels. The series was broadcast weekly on BBC One and ended on 18 August 2013, and it gave Irons his first lead role in a major television drama. The part showed that he could handle charm, ambition, and political danger in the same character, and it opened the door to more serious and varied work.
The Riot Club, Woman in Gold and Bitter Harvest
In 2014 Irons played Miles Richards in The Riot Club, Lone Scherfig’s film adaptation of Laura Wade’s play Posh, about a group of privileged students at Oxford. He starred alongside Sam Claflin, Douglas Booth, Jessica Brown Findlay, Holliday Grainger, and Freddie Fox, and several critics singled out his performance. In 2015 he appeared as Fritz Altmann in Woman in Gold, a drama about the real-life fight to recover artworks stolen by the Nazis, in a cast that also featured Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds.
His first leading film role in a drama came in 2017 with Bitter Harvest, a story set during the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s in which he played a character named Yuri. That same year he appeared in two other films that showed his range. In The Wife he played David Castleman, the son of the characters played by Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce, and Close earned an Oscar nomination for the film. In Crooked House, based on the 1949 Agatha Christie novel, he played Charles Hayward, in a large cast that included Terence Stamp, Glenn Close, and Gillian Anderson.
Television Roles: Tutankhamun, Condor and More
Television has become the strongest part of his résumé. In 2016 he played the archaeologist Howard Carter in the ITV miniseries Tutankhamun. In 2018 he appeared in the BBC spy drama The Little Drummer Girl as Al, and he also took a role in the film Terminal alongside Margot Robbie, Simon Pegg, and Mike Myers.
His most substantial television job so far was Condor, which ran from 2018 to 2020 and gave him 20 episodes as Joe Turner. The series is based on the 1975 film Three Days of the Condor, in which Robert Redford originally played the role. Irons played a young CIA analyst whose idealism is tested when he discovers a plot that threatens the lives of millions of people. The role was physically demanding, and he spoke in interviews about the preparation and stunt work involved. In 2022 he appeared as Malcolm Foxworth in Lifetime’s Flowers in the Attic: The Origin, a prequel miniseries with a cast that included Kelsey Grammer and Harry Hamlin.
Recent Work: Miss Austen and Young Sherlock
In 2025 Irons played Henry Hobday in Miss Austen, a four-part BBC and PBS Masterpiece drama about the life of Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra, with a cast that included Keeley Hawes and Rose Leslie. It was a quieter, period-style role, and it kept him connected to the costume drama world that had first made his name on television.
His highest-profile recent role is Mycroft Holmes, the older brother of Sherlock, in Young Sherlock. The Guy Ritchie series arrived on Prime Video on 4 March 2026 with all eight episodes available at once. It stars Hero Fiennes Tiffin as the young detective, with Dónal Finn as a young James Moriarty, and Max Irons, Natascha McElhone, Joseph Fiennes, Zine Tseng, and Colin Firth among the supporting cast. According to Prime Video, the series reached 45 million viewers in its first 28 days and ranks among the top 10 Prime Original seasons of all time, with about 63 percent of its audience coming from outside the United States. Prime Video renewed the show for a second season on 14 April 2026, and Guy Ritchie is set to direct its first episode. Season two cast details had not been fully confirmed at the time of writing, so it is worth checking official announcements before assuming which actors return.
What Is Next: Neuromancer
Irons is also part of the cast of Neuromancer, Apple TV’s ten-episode adaptation of William Gibson’s landmark 1984 cyberpunk novel. He plays Jean Tessier-Ashpool, a member of the wealthy corporate dynasty at the center of the story. Callum Turner stars as the hacker Case, Briana Middleton plays Molly, and the cast also includes Mark Strong, Peter Sarsgaard, and Clémence Poésy. Apple confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2026 that the series will premiere on 22 January 2027, with two episodes first and then one new episode each week through 19 March 2027.
Max Irons as a Model
Besides acting, Irons has worked as a model for brands including Burberry and Mango. In 2012 he was the face of Macy’s I.N.C. collection for the fall and winter season, and in 2015 GQ named him one of the 50 best-dressed men in Britain. His fashion connections are also personal, since his wife works in the industry.
Max Irons’ Wife and Family Life
Irons began dating Sophie Pera, then the fashion director of Tatler, in 2013. They married in Oxfordshire on 30 November 2019, and Pera later wrote about her couture wedding dress for Tatler. The couple welcomed a daughter in 2023. Irons generally keeps his private life low-key, so there is little public detail beyond these confirmed facts.
He has also talked about the unique pressure of sharing a famous name with his father. In a 2013 interview with The Independent, he said that working with his father would be his worst nightmare, a comment that reflects his determination to build a career on his own terms rather than on family connections.
Max Irons Complete Filmography
Film
- 2004: Being Julia (Curtain Call Boy)
- 2009: Dorian Gray (Lucius)
- 2011: Red Riding Hood (Henry Lazar)
- 2013: The Host (Jared Howe)
- 2014: The Riot Club (Miles Richards)
- 2015: Woman in Gold (Fritz Altmann)
- 2017: Bitter Harvest (Yuri)
- 2017: The Wife (David Castleman)
- 2017: Crooked House (Charles Hayward)
- 2018: Terminal (Alfred)
Television
- 2011: The Runaway (Tommy Pasqualino)
- 2013: The White Queen (Edward IV)
- 2016: Tutankhamun (Howard Carter)
- 2018: The Little Drummer Girl (Al)
- 2018–2020: Condor (Joe Turner)
- 2022: Flowers in the Attic: The Origin (Malcolm Foxworth)
- 2025: Miss Austen (Henry Hobday)
- 2026: Young Sherlock (Mycroft Holmes)
- 2027: Neuromancer (Jean Tessier-Ashpool), upcoming
Best Max Irons Movies and Shows to Watch First
If you are new to his work, a good starting point is Condor, because it gives him the most screen time and shows his skill at playing intelligent, conflicted characters. The White Queen is the best choice for fans of historical drama, and Young Sherlock is the easiest way to see him in a current, widely watched series. For film, The Riot Club and The Wife both show him in strong ensemble casts, while Red Riding Hood and The Host are better suited to viewers who enjoy fantasy and romance.
Frequently Asked Questions About Max Irons
How old is Max Irons? Max Irons was born on 17 October 1985, so he is 40 years old and will turn 41 on 17 October 2026.
Who are Max Irons’ parents? His parents are the English actor Jeremy Irons and the Irish actress Sinéad Cusack. His maternal grandfather was the actor Cyril Cusack.
Is Max Irons married? Yes. He married Sophie Pera on 30 November 2019 in Oxfordshire, and they have a daughter who was born in 2023.
What is Max Irons best known for? He is best known for The White Queen, The Host, The Riot Club, The Wife, Condor, and, more recently, Young Sherlock.
Who does Max Irons play in Young Sherlock? He plays Mycroft Holmes, the older brother of the young Sherlock Holmes.
When does Neuromancer come out? Apple TV has set the premiere for 22 January 2027.
Where did Max Irons study acting? He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and graduated in 2008.
How tall is Max Irons and what is his net worth? Celebrity profile sites commonly list his height at about 1.89 metres, but this figure is not officially confirmed. No reliable, verified source gives his net worth, so any exact figure you see online should be treated as a guess.
Final Thoughts
Max Irons has gone from a small part in a 2004 film to leading roles on both sides of the Atlantic, and his career has been shaped by a mix of period drama, spy thrillers, literary adaptations, and now science fiction. With Young Sherlock already a major streaming success and Neuromancer set to arrive in early 2027, the next year looks like one of the busiest and most visible of his career.
Disclaimer
This article is provided for general information and entertainment purposes only. It was compiled from publicly available sources, including reference profiles, official studio and streaming announcements, and entertainment news reports, and was current as of 13 October 2026. Release dates, cast lists, and personal details can change, so readers should confirm important facts with official sources such as the relevant studio, broadcaster, or streaming platform. This article is not affiliated with or endorsed by Max Irons or his representatives. All names, titles, and trademarks mentioned belong to their respective owners.
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