Jeremy Irons

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

His first major film role came in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. After starring in dramas such as Moonlighting (1982), Betrayal (1983), The Mission (1986), and Dead Ringers (1988), he received the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Claus von Bülow in Reversal of Fortune (1990). After winning the Academy Award, Irons continued starring in drama films including Mr. Kafka in Kafka (1991), Dr. Stephen Fleming in Damage (1992), René Gallimard in M. Butterfly (1993), Humbert Humbert in Lolita (1997), Antonio in The Merchant of Venice (2004), Tiberias in Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Randall Bragg in Appaloosa (2008), and John Tuld in Margin Call (2011). He also performed the voice of Scar in Disney's The Lion King (1994), Simon Gruber in Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) and Alfred Pennyworth in the DC Extended Universe (2016–2023) series of films.

On television, Irons's break-out role came in the ITV series Brideshead Revisited (1981) which is frequently ranked among the greatest British television dramas as well as greatest literary adaptations. He received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his performance for his performance in the miniseries Elizabeth I (2005). He starred as Pope Alexander VI in the Showtime historical series The Borgias (2011–2013) and as Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias in HBO's Watchmen (2019). In October 2011, he was nominated the Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He is one of the few actors who have achieved the "Triple Crown of Acting" in the US, winning an Oscar for film, an Emmy for television and a Tony Award for theatre.

Philanthropy

He is the Patron of the Emergency Response Team Search and Rescue (ERTSAR), which is a United Nations–recognised life saving disaster response search and rescue team and registered charity. It is based in his home County of Oxfordshire, England. He supports a number of other charities, including The Prison Phoenix Trust in England, and the London-based Evidence for Development, which seeks to improve the lives of the world's most needy people by preventing famines and delivering food aid, for both of which he is an active patron. In 2000, Irons received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Olivia de Havilland during the International Achievement Summit in London.

In 2010, Irons starred in a promotional video, 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.

Irons was named Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2011. He provided the narration of the 2013 documentary (by Andrew Lauer) Sahaya Going Beyond about the work of the charity Sahaya International.

In November 2015, Irons supported the No Cold Homes campaign by the UK charity Turn2us. Irons was one of nearly thirty celebrities, who included Helen Mirren, Hugh Laurie and Ed Sheeran, to donate items of winter clothing to the campaign, with the proceeds used to help people in the UK struggling to keep their homes warm in winter.

Irons is a patron of the Chiltern Shakespeare Company, which produces Shakespearean plays annually in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and a London-based drama school, The Associated Studios. 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. Also in 2008, Irons was awarded an honorary Doctorate by Southampton Solent University. On 20 July 2016, Irons was announced as the first Chancellor of Bath Spa University.

Personal life

Irons married Julie Hallam in 1969, but they divorced later that year. He married Irish actress Sinéad Cusack on 28 March 1978. They have two sons, Samuel "Sam" Irons (b. 1978), who works as a photographer, and who co-starred with his father in Danny, the Champion of the World, and Maximilian "Max" Irons (b. 1985), also an actor. Both of Irons's sons have appeared in films with their father. Irons's wife and children are Catholic; Irons has also been described as a practising Catholic and has stated:

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He owns Kilcoe Castle near Ballydehob, County Cork, Ireland, and had the castle painted a traditional ochre colour which was misreported as being 'pink'. He also has another Irish residence in The Liberties of Dublin, as well as a home in his birth town of Cowes, a detached house and barn in Watlington, Oxfordshire and a mews house in Notting Hill, London.

In March 2016 Irons told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that he would refuse an invitation to the palace to accept a New Year Honour should it ever arrive: "I became an actor to be a rogue and a vagabond so I don't think it would be apt for the establishment to pull me in as one of their own, for I ain't."

In 2013 Irons said he was a smoker and an avid fan of cigars, naming Romeo y Julieta as his favourite brand. He said, "My curse is that I'm a cigarette smoker. I make my own cigarettes. So I have a tendency to inhale when I smoke a cigar. I have to keep reminding myself not to."

Acting credits

Main article: Jeremy Irons on stage and screen

Awards and nominations

Year	Organizations	Category	Nominated Work	Result
1991	Academy Awards	Best Actor	Reversal of Fortune	Won
1981	BAFTA Awards	Best Film Actor in a Leading Role	The French Lieutenant's Woman	Nominated
1982		Best Television Actor in a Leading Role	Brideshead Revisited
1982	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture – Television
1986		Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama	The Mission
1990			Reversal of Fortune	Won
2006		Best Supporting Actor – Television	Elizabeth I
2009		Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture – Television	Georgia O'Keeffe	Nominated
2011		Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama	The Borgias
1985	Grammy Awards	Best Spoken Word Album	The Real Thing
1982	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie	Brideshead Revisited
1997		Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance	The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century	Won
2006		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie	Elizabeth I
2014		Outstanding Narrator	Game of Lions
2020		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie	Watchmen	Nominated
2006	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie	Elizabeth I	Won
2009			Georgia O'Keeffe	Nominated
2013			The Hollow Crown
2022		Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	House of Gucci
1984	Tony Awards	Best Leading Actor in a Play	The Real Thing	Won
2017	Europe Theatre Prize

Roles on Idea Wiki

• Papa Louie (film) - Guy Mortadello
• Kingdom Hearts vs. Sword Art Online - Scar
• Simba's Great Adventure - Scar
• Sailor Moon Crystal: FernGully - The Shapeshifter
• Once Upon a Studio: Version 2.0 - Scar
• The Persuaders (2022 film) - Dr.Heinz Gruber

External links

• Jeremy Irons – The Authoritative Website
• Jeremy Irons at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jeremy Irons at the Internet Movie Database
• Jeremy Irons at Rotten Tomatoes
• Jeremy Irons Profile by The Daily Telegraph (13 March 2008)