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Jeremy Irons: Biography, Facts and Career

Who is Jeremy Irons? An evergreen, sourced profile: biography, key facts and career.

By the Pop Culture Files editorial team4 min read✓ Fact-checked
Jeremy Irons
Copyright owned by Jeremy Irons [Jonathan Hession/Showtime] via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, being one of the few actors who has achieved the Triple Crown of Acting. Irons received classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and started his acting career on stage in 1969. He 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 Award for Best Actor nomination. 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). Other notable films include Kafka (1991), Damage (1992), Dungeons & Dragons (2000), M. Butterfly (1993), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Lolita (1997), The Merchant of Venice (2004), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Inland Empire (2006), Appaloosa (2008), Margin Call (2011), The Words (2012) and The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015). He voiced Scar in Disney's The Lion King (1994) and played Alfred Pennyworth in the DC Extended Universe (2016–2023) franchise. On television, Irons's breakthrough role came playing Charles Ryder in the ITV series Brideshead Revisited (1981), receiving nominations for the BAFTA TV Award, Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. He received the Primetime Emmy Award for his portrayal of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester in the HBO miniseries Elizabeth I (2005) and was Emmy-nominated for playing Adrian Veidt in HBO's Watchmen (2019). He starred as Pope Alexander VI in the Showtime historical series The Borgias (2011–2013). In October 2011, he was named the Goodwill Ambassador for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.

Quick facts about Jeremy Irons

  • Full name: Jeremy Irons
  • Born: 1948-09-19
  • Nationality: United Kingdom
  • Known as: Musician
  • Wikidata ID: Q171745

Profile compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jeremy Irons?

Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor.

What nationality is Jeremy Irons?

Jeremy Irons is United Kingdom.

When was Jeremy Irons born?

Jeremy Irons was born on 1948-09-19.

Sources

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