Jeremy Irons Biography

Jeremy John Irons was born on September 19, 1948, in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, to Paul Dugan Irons and Barbara Anne Brereton Brymer.

His father was an accountant and his great-great-grandfather was a metropolitan policeman, who was sacked for his drinking habits. He later became a chartist.

Jeremy has two siblings, a brother named Christopher and a sister named Felicity Anne.

He was enrolled at ‘Sherborne School’ in Dorset when he was 13. He was the drummer in his school band ‘Four Pillars of Wisdom.’ He can also speak fluent French and is fond of horse riding.

He began his training as an actor at ‘Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.’ He performed in a number of plays as well as on the streets of Bristol before being signed professionally.

Jeremy started his career by performing in plays in his school and later went on to appear on the London stage, playing ‘John the Baptist’ in ‘Godspell’ in 1971. In the next few years, he appeared in a number of plays, including ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ ‘The Winter’s Tale,’ ‘The Caretaker,’ and ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’

He made his television debut in 1971 with an appearance in the series ‘The Rivals of Sherlock Homes.’ He made several other appearances on British television. He made his big screen debut in 1980 when he played ‘Mikhail Fokine’ in ‘Nijinsky.’

He gained wider recognition when he played ‘Charles Ryder’ in the 1981 mini-series ‘Brideshead Revisited,’ which was an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s classic novel of the same name.

He made his Broadway debut in the 1984 Tom Stoppard-directed play ‘The Real Thing.’ He received a ‘Tony Award’ for this role.

He then played twin gynecologists in the 1988 psycho thriller ‘Dead Ringers.’ For his outstanding performance in ‘Dead Ringers,’ he won the ‘New York Film Critics Circle Award’ for ‘Best Actor,’ ‘Chicago Film Critics Association Award’ for ‘Best Actor,’ and ‘Genie Award’ for ‘Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.’

In 1990, he landed what would eventually become his most popular role in the movie ‘Reversal of Fortune’ for which he received an ‘Academy Award’ along with many other accolades.

Over the course of his illustrious career, he has appeared in numerous films, establishing himself as a versatile actor.

He has acted in several critically acclaimed movies, including the 2013 film ‘Night Train to Lisbon’ and ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ in 2015.

In 2016, he played ‘Alfred Pennyworth’ in ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ and then reprised his role as ‘Pennyworth’ in the 2017 film ‘Justice League.’ He was also seen in ‘Birds Like Us’ (2017) and ‘Red Sparrow’ (2018).

Over the years, Irons has appeared in several TV series. From 2011 to 2013, he was part of the main cast of ‘The Borgias’ where he played ‘Rodrigo Borgia.’ In 2019, he played one of the main roles in the superhero drama television series ‘Watchmen.’

His first major film was ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman.’ This romantic drama earned him a nomination for a ‘BAFTA Award.’

Some of his other major works are mystery thriller ‘Kafka,’ period drama ‘House of the Spirits,’ romantic dramas ‘M. Butterfly’ and ‘Lolita,’ action film ‘Die Hard with a Vengeance,’ adventure film ‘Dungeons and Dragons,’ and drama films ‘Merchant of Venice’ and ‘Being Julia.’

He was cast as ‘Alfred Pennyworth’ in ‘DC Extended Universe’ films ‘Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice’ and ‘Justice League.’

Apart from being a popular stage and film actor, he is also a renowned TV actor. Some of his popular TV shows are ‘Brideshead Revisited,’ ‘Elizabeth I,’ and ‘The Borgias.’

In 1978, Jeremy won his first major award for outstanding work in theatre. He won the ‘Clarence Derwent Award’ for ‘Best Male in a Supporting Role’ for his role as ‘Jameson’ in the play ‘The Rear Column.’ For his next play ‘The Real Thing,’ he won the ‘Drama League Award’ for ‘Distinguished Performance’ and the prestigious ‘Tony Award’ for ‘Best Actor in a Play.’

His first award for a movie was for his role as ‘Father Gabriel’ in the 1986 movie ‘The Mission.’ He received the ‘David di Donatello Award’ for ‘Best Foreign Actor.’

The 1990 hit ‘Reversal of Fortune’ turned out to be a big breakthrough in his career. He received as many as nine awards for his brilliant performance as ‘Claus von Bulow’ in the film. These awards include ‘Academy Award’ for ‘Best Actor,’ ‘Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award’ for ‘Best Actor,’ ‘Boston Society of Film Critics Award’ for ‘Best Actor,’ ‘Chicago Film Critics Association Award’ for ‘Best Actor,’ ‘David di Donatello Award’ for ‘Best Foreign Actor,’ and ‘Golden Globe Award’ for ‘Best Actor.’

He voiced ‘Siegfried Sassoon’ in a documentary series titled ‘The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century’ for which he received the ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ for ‘Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.’

He won the ‘Golden Globe Award’ for ‘Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film,’ ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ for ‘Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Movie,’ and ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ for ‘Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie’ for his role in the mini-series ‘Elizabeth I.’

He has also received the ‘Honorary César,’ ‘European Film Award’ for ‘Special Achievement,’ and ‘François Truffaut Award’ at ‘Giffoni International Film Festival.’ In 2014, he was honored with the prestigious ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ under the ‘Outstanding Narrator’ category for ‘Game of Lions.’

Jeremy owns ‘Kilcoe Castle’ near Ballydehob, County Cork in Ireland. He also has residences in The Liberties of Dublin, Cowes, and Oxfordshire.

In 1969, he married Julie Hallam, but they divorced later the same year.

He then married actress Sinéad Cusack in 1978. He appeared with her in ‘Waterland’ and in a few plays.

He has two sons, Samuel ‘Sam’ Irons and Maximilian ‘Max’ Irons. Samuel is a photographer and Max is an actor.

He was awarded an honorary doctorate by ‘Southampton Solent University.’ He received Honorary Lifetime Membership from the ‘University College Dublin Law Society’ in 2008.

He was announced as the first chancellor of ‘Bath Spa University’ in 2016.