Max Irons is an English-Irish actor and model who has built a steady career in film, television and theatre since the mid-2000s. Many people first search his name after seeing him as King Edward IV in the BBC drama The White Queen, as the CIA analyst Joe Turner in the spy series Condor, or more recently as Mycroft Holmes in Prime Video’s Young Sherlock. Others come looking because of his famous parents, the actors Jeremy Irons and Sinéad Cusack. This guide brings together the most useful and best-confirmed facts about his life and work in one place, and it has been updated with news available up to October 2026.
Max Irons at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons |
| Date of birth | 17 October 1985 (he turns 41 on 17 October 2026) |
| Place of birth | Camden, London, England |
| Profession | Actor and model |
| Parents | Jeremy Irons and Sinéad Cusack |
| Height | About 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Spouse | Sophie Pera (married 30 November 2019) |
| Best-known work | Red Riding Hood, The White Queen, The Host, The Riot Club, The Wife, Condor, Young Sherlock |
Early Life and Family Background
Max Irons was born in the Camden area of London on 17 October 1985. He is the second son of the English actor Jeremy Irons, who won an Academy Award, and the Irish actress Sinéad Cusack. His older brother, Samuel Irons, works as a photographer. Through his mother he also has a half-brother, the Irish politician Richard Boyd Barrett, and his grandfather was the well-known Irish actor Cyril Cusack. Several of his aunts, uncles and cousins also work in the performing arts, so acting runs deep in the family.
Growing up in such a family did not make school easy. Irons has spoken about struggling with dyslexia during his school years, and one widely repeated story says he could not spell his own surname until he was about eight. He attended the Dragon School in Oxford and then Bryanston School in Dorset before moving on to professional training.
Training and the First Steps in Acting
Irons graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London in 2008. His first on-screen appearance came earlier, in a small role in the 2004 film Being Julia, and he began acting at sixteen in the play A Gaggle of Saints. While he worked toward bigger parts, he also earned money as a model and has appeared in campaigns for fashion brands including Burberry and Mango. He took on supporting film roles such as Dorian Gray in 2009, which gave him experience before his first big leading part arrived.
The Breakthrough Years: 2011 to 2014
The film that first made Max Irons a recognisable name was Red Riding Hood in 2011. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, it starred Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman, and Irons played Henry, one of the two young men competing for the heroine’s attention. Two years later he took a lead role in the science-fiction romance The Host, based on Stephenie Meyer’s novel, where he played Jared Howe opposite Saoirse Ronan.
In 2013 he moved into television with The White Queen, the BBC and Starz adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s novels about the Wars of the Roses. Irons played the charming and ruthless King Edward IV, a part that carried the series across eight episodes and showed that he could handle period drama as well as modern roles. In 2014 he appeared in two quite different films: Woman in Gold, a true-story drama about the recovery of a stolen Klimt painting, and The Riot Club, a dark film about an elite Oxford dining society adapted from the stage play Posh.
Leading Roles and Prestige Projects: 2016 to 2020
The next stage of his career gave him more room to carry a story. In 2016 he played the archaeologist Howard Carter in the ITV mini-series Tutankhamun. In 2017 he took his first film lead in Bitter Harvest, a drama set during the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s, and he also appeared in the Agatha Christie adaptation Crooked House. In 2018 he played the son of the main characters in The Wife, a well-reviewed drama starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce, and he had a small part in the television adaptation of The Little Drummer Girl.
The biggest television role of that period was Joe Turner in Condor, a modern spy thriller based on the same source material as the 1975 film Three Days of the Condor, in which Robert Redford had played the character. The series ran from 2018 to 2020 and gave Irons twenty episodes as its central figure, a young analyst who stumbles on a conspiracy inside the CIA.
Recent Work: 2022 to 2026
In 2022 Irons played the cold and powerful Malcolm Foxworth in Flowers in the Attic: The Origin, a four-part Lifetime prequel to the well-known gothic novels. In 2025 he joined the cast of Miss Austen, a four-part drama based on Gill Hornby’s novel about Cassandra Austen and the burning of her sister Jane’s letters. It aired on BBC One from 2 February 2025 and later reached American viewers on PBS Masterpiece, and Irons played Henry Hobday, a character linked to the younger Cassandra’s story.
His most talked-about recent role is Mycroft Holmes in Young Sherlock, a Guy Ritchie series about the detective at nineteen, with Hero Fiennes Tiffin as Sherlock and Dónal Finn as a young James Moriarty. All eight episodes arrived on Prime Video on 4 March 2026. Prime Video reported that the show reached 45 million viewers in its first 28 days and announced a second season in April 2026, with Ritchie set to direct its first episode. At the time of writing, the sources checked do not confirm which cast members will return for season two, so fans should watch for official casting news.
Max Irons on Stage and in Audio Work
Although he is best known for screen work, Irons has also worked in theatre and spoken-word projects. He is listed as a reader for The Poetry Hour, where he has recorded war poems alongside actors such as Greg Wise, Emilia Fox and Tom Burke. This side of his career is less publicised, but it reflects the classical training he received at Guildhall and the family tradition of reading and performing verse.
Personal Life: Marriage and Family
Max Irons began dating Sophie Pera, then the fashion director of Tatler magazine, in 2013. The couple married in Oxfordshire on 30 November 2019. Reports say they welcomed a daughter in 2023, although the couple keeps their family life private and sources disagree on the exact number of children, so it is safest to treat this detail as unconfirmed. Before his marriage, Irons was linked in the press to the Australian actress Emily Browning around 2011 and 2012.
Net worth figures for Irons vary widely between websites, from a few million to around ten million US dollars, and none of them come from verified financial records. For that reason this article does not give a figure.
Why Max Irons Is Worth Following
What stands out about Irons is the range of his choices. He has played fantasy heroes, a medieval king, an archaeologist, a CIA analyst, a ruthless patriarch and a famous detective’s older brother, and he has moved comfortably between big studio films, British period drama and streaming thrillers. He has done this while carrying one of the most famous surnames in British acting, and he has built a record that stands on its own rather than leaning on his parents’ reputations.
Frequently Asked Questions About Max Irons
How old is Max Irons? He was born on 17 October 1985, so he is 40 years old as of October 2026 and turns 41 on 17 October.
Is Max Irons the son of Jeremy Irons? Yes. His father is Jeremy Irons and his mother is Sinéad Cusack, both well-known actors.
Who does Max Irons play in Young Sherlock? He plays Mycroft Holmes, the older brother of Sherlock, in the Prime Video series that premiered on 4 March 2026.
Who is Max Irons married to? He is married to Sophie Pera, a fashion journalist and former Tatler fashion director, whom he wed in Oxfordshire on 30 November 2019.
What is Max Irons best known for? Most people know him for Red Riding Hood, The White Queen, The Riot Club, The Wife, Condor and Young Sherlock.
Conclusion
Max Irons has grown from a young model and drama-school graduate into a respected actor with credits on both sides of the Atlantic. His mix of period drama, thrillers and high-profile streaming projects suggests that his career still has plenty of room to grow, and the success of Young Sherlock makes the next year an interesting one for his fans.
Disclaimer
This article is provided for general information only and was written from publicly available sources as of 12 October 2026. Details about people’s careers, projects and personal lives can change, and some biographical facts, such as family details, are reported differently across sources. Please check official sources before relying on any detail, especially for anything related to release dates, casting or personal matters. This article is not affiliated with or endorsed by Max Irons, his representatives or any production company, and all names, titles and trademarks belong to their respective owners.
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