Childhood & Early Life
Max was born Maximillion Drake Thieriot, on October 14, 1988, in Los Altos Hills, California, to Bridgit Ann and George Cameron Thieriot. He grew up with his older sister, Frances "Frankie" Cameron, and his younger brother, Aidan. Max is of German, English, Norwegian, Danish, Irish, Dutch Jewish, French Jewish, Scottish, and Northern Irish descent. His Dutch Jewish great-great-grandfather, MH de Young, was the co-founder of the paper 'San Francisco Chronicle,' which was later run by his other family members.
Raised in the small town of Occidental in Sonoma County, California, Max studied at the 'Sonoma Country Day School' in Santa Rosa, California, and then graduated from 'El Molino High School' in Forestville, California, in 2006. Max was mentored by talent manager Don Gibble, who later became his agent, too.
Max earned a modeling campaign for the fashion brand 'Gap' and worked in two short films before he ventured into the mainstream industry.
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Career
Max began his acting career with the 2004 adventure–comedy film 'Catch That Kid,' in which he played a young mechanic named ‘Gus.’ The following year, he appeared in the action–comedy movie 'The Pacifier.' The movie featured Max as ‘Seth Plummer,’ the second-oldest child of the family, under the protection of a 'Navy SEAL,' played by Vin Diesel. However, the movie earned him a nomination for 'The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards' in the category of the ‘Worst Performance by a Child.’ Max was also nominated for the 'Young Artist Award' for the ‘Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor’ for his performance. He also displayed his singing skills in the film.
In 2007, Max essayed the role of ‘Ned Nickerson,’ the fictional character from the 'Nancy Drew’ mystery stories, in the novel’s film adaptation. He had a starring role in the drama film 'The Astronaut Farmer.' Max played the younger version of the character ‘David Rice,’ who was shown to have the ability of transportation, in the 2008 science fiction 'Jumper.'
Max received his first 'Young Artist Award' (for ‘Young Ensemble Cast’), along with the cast, for his performance as ‘Will Shepherd’ in the 2008 comedy–drama 'Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.' He then played the lead character ‘Adam "Bug" Hellerman’ in the 2010 slasher film 'My Soul to Take.' Initially, actor Henry Hopper was signed to play ‘Bug,’ but the role went to Max after Henry contracted mononucleosis.
Max was cast as the main character ‘Shasta’s boyfriend in the comedy 'Stay Cool,’ which premiered at the 2009 'Tribeca Film Festival.' The film hit the US theaters in September 2011. He was seen as ‘Michael Stewart,’ son of ‘Dr. Catherine Stewart,’ played by Julianne Moore, in the erotic thriller 'Chloe.' He was cast opposite Amanda Seyfried, who played the titular role in the movie. In 2011, Max appeared in the Vivi Friedman-directed multi-starrer comedy–drama 'The Family Tree' and portrayed the lead role of ‘Will Rankin’ in the Canadian drama 'Foreverland.'
In 2012, Max was supposed to make his TV debut. He was booked for the lead role of ‘Carter Henderson’ in the 'ABC' movie 'Dark Horse.' Directed and produced by Roland Emmerich, the project failed to pick up and was thus not made into a series. Max, however, continued appearing in films and played ‘Kyle,’ a tattooed underage video chat-room stripper, in the drama 'Disconnect.' He got the script of the film from his agent, who suggested Max read Kyle’s character. He was intrigued by the complexity and various shades of the character.
Max was cast as ‘Ryan Jacobson,’ the sole survivor of a homicide, in the psychological thriller 'House at the End of the Street.' Unfortunately, the film was panned by critics. It still managed to be a commercial success. He played the young version of 'Brendan Sexton III’s character, ‘Nowell,’ in the drama film 'Yellow.'
After 'Yellow,' Max moved his focus to TV. He finally made his TV debut as ‘Dylan Massett’ in the 'A&E' psychological horror–drama 'Bates Motel.' He remained on the show for 48 episodes, from 2013 to 2017. He even directed one of the episodes (aired in 2017) and voiced his character in his first episode.
In between filming the series, Max was seen in a significant role in the 2015 action thriller 'Point Break.' He also played John Coffee "Jack" Hays, the real-life former captain and military officer of the 'Republic of Texas,’ in five episodes of the ‘History Channel’ miniseries 'Texas Rising.' The miniseries was based on the foundation of the 'Texas Rangers' and the ‘Texas Revolution’ against Mexico. Max currently portrays ‘Clay Spenser,’ a 'Special Warfare Operator Second Class' ranked second-generation 'Navy SEAL,' in the 'CBS' military drama 'SEAL Team.'
Family & Personal Life
Max proposed marriage to his girlfriend, Alexis "Lexi" Murphy, in 2012, during a trip to the Caribbean, the place they first met as teenagers. A year later, on June 1, 2013, the two got married in Lake Tahoe, California.
Max and Alexis have a son named Beaux Thieriot, born in late December 2015. Their second son, Maximus, was born on January 21, 2018. Max’s sister, Frankie, is married to former 'Philadelphia Phillies' baseball pitcher Michael Stutes.
Apart from being an actor, Max is an avid vintner, too. He co-owns vineyards in his hometown of Occidental, with two of his childhood friends, Christopher Strieter and Myles Lawrence-Briggs. They also distribute wine under their label, 'Senses.' The brand was used in a family-dinner scene in the third season of 'Bates Motel.' Max also owns several pets.
Max has several tattoos on his body. For his role in 'The Pacifier,' Max had to bleach his hair repeatedly, which made him apprehensive about the health of his hair. He thought he might lose his hair in the future.
