
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. Irons's break-out role came in the ITV series Brideshead Revisited (1981) and is frequently ranked among the greatest British television dramas as well as greatest literary adaptations. It would earn him a Golden Globe Award nomination. His first major film role came in the romantic drama 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), and The Mission (1986), he was praised for portraying twin gynaecologists in David Cronenberg's psychological thriller Dead Ringers (1988). Irons has won multiple awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his portrayal of the accused attempted murderer Claus von Bülow in Reversal of Fortune (1990). Irons had roles in Steven Soderbergh's mystery thriller Kafka (1991), the period drama The House of the Spirits (1993), the romantic drama M. Butterfly (1993), voiced Scar in Disney's The Lion King (1994), played Simon Gruber in the action film Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Humbert Humbert in Lolita (1997) and Aramis in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998). He starred in the action adventure Dungeons & Dragons (2000), played Antonio in The Merchant of Venice (2004), appeared in Being Julia (2004), the historical drama Kingdom of Heaven (2005), the fantasy-adventure Eragon (2006), the Western Appaloosa (2008), and the indie drama Margin Call (2011). In 2016, he appeared in Assassin's Creed and portrayed Alfred Pennyworth in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League (2017), and Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021). On television, Irons appeared in the historical miniseries Elizabeth I, receiving a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor. From 2011 to 2013, he starred as Pope Alexander VI in the Showtime historical series The Borgias. In 2019, he appeared as Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias in HBO's Watchmen. 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. In October 2011, he was nominated the Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Known For
Credits
- 2025 · Palestine 36 as High Commissioner Wauchope
- 2025 · The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl as Self
- 2025 · The Count of Monte Cristo as Abbé Faria
- 2024 · Quintessentially Irish as Self
- 2024 · The Beekeeper as Wallace Westwyld
- 2023 · Once Upon a Studio as Scar (voice)
- 2023 · The Cello as Francesco
- 2023 · The Flash as Alfred Pennyworth
- 2023 · Seeing Through the Mists of Oblivion as Traveller (archived audio)
- 2023 · Tom Hanks: The Nomad as Self (archive footage)
- 2021 · Munich – The Edge of War as Neville Chamberlain
- 2021 · House of Gucci as Rodolfo Gucci
- 2021 · Zack Snyder's Justice League as Alfred
- 2020 · Love, Weddings & Other Disasters as Lawrence Philips
- 2019 · The Morning Show as Martin Levy
- 2019 · Watchmen as Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias
- 2018 · Red Sparrow as Vladimir Korchnoi
- 2017 · Broadway: The Next Generation as Self
- 2017 · Justice League as Alfred
- 2016 · Assassin's Creed as Alan Rikkin
- 2016 · The Man Who Knew Infinity as G. H. Hardy
- 2016 · Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as Alfred
- 2016 · Race as Avery Brundage
- 2016 · Correspondence as Ed Phoerum
- 2015 · Emotional Uncertainties as Self
- 2014 · Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- 2013 · Goodbye Granadaland as Self
- 2013 · The Wind Gods as Narrator (voice)
- 2013 · Night Train to Lisbon as Raimund
- 2013 · Beautiful Creatures as Macon Ravenwood
- 2012 · The Words as The Old Man
- 2012 · The Hollow Crown as Henry IV
- 2011 · Prohibition as Reader (voice)
- 2011 · Margin Call as John Tuld
- 2011 · The Borgias as Rodrigo Borgia
- 2010 · The Majestic Plastic Bag as Narrator
- 2009 · Georgia O'Keeffe as Alfred Stieglitz
- 2009 · Waking Sleeping Beauty as Self (archive footage)
- 2009 · The Pink Panther 2 as Avellaneda
- 2008 · Appaloosa as Randall Bragg
- 2008 · 1984 as Television Voice
- 2008 · The Colour of Magic as Patrician
- 2006 · Eragon as Brom
- 2006 · Inland Empire as Kingsley Stewart
- 2006 · The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall as Self
- 2006 · The One Show as Self - Guest
- 2006 · The Path to Redemption as Self
- 2005 · Revisiting Brideshead as Self
- 2005 · Elizabeth I as Earl of Leicester
- 2005 · Kingdom of Heaven as Tiberias
- 2005 · The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as Self
- 2004 · The Merchant of Venice as Antonio
- 2004 · Who Do You Think You Are? as Self
- 2004 · Being Julia as Michael Gosselyn
- 2002 · Callas Forever as Larry Kelly
- 2002 · Ohio Impromptu as Reader / Listener
- 2002 · The Time Machine as Über-Morlock
- 2000 · Dungeons & Dragons as Profion
- 2000 · Longitude as Rupert Gould
- 1999 · Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Dr. Cap Jackson
- 1998 · The Man in the Iron Mask as Aramis
- 1997 · Lolita as Humbert Humbert
- 1997 · The View as Self
- 1996 · Stealing Beauty as Alex Parrish
- 1995 · The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies as Self
- 1995 · Die Hard: With a Vengeance as Simon
- 1994 · The Lion King as Scar (voice)
- 1994 · Brisant as Self
- 1993 · The House of the Spirits as Esteban Trueba
- 1993 · Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest
- 1992 · Damage as Dr. Stephen Fleming
- 1992 · HBO First Look as
- 1991 · Performance as Odon Von Horvath
- 1990 · The Civil War as Various
- 1989 · The Simpsons as Bar Rag (voice)
- 1989 · Danny the Champion of the World as William Smith
- 1988 · Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie as Self
- 1987 · Daytime Live as
- 1982 · Nature as Narrator
- 1981 · Brideshead Revisited as Charles Ryder
- 1981 · The French Lieutenant's Woman as Charles Henry Smithson / Mike
- 1981 · Wetten, dass..? as Self
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
- 1971 · The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes as Nephew
- 1971 · Great Performances as Self
- 1965 · BBC Play of the Month as Edward Voysey
- 1962 · The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Host
- Future · The Beekeeper 2 as Wallace Westwyld
- 2024 · Alec Guinness: A Class Act as self
- 2023 · Codice Carla as Self
- 2023 · Making The Flash: Worlds Collide as Self - 'Alfred'
- 2022 · Franco Zeffirelli: Rebel Conformist as Self
- 2022 · Birds Like Us as Mi (voice)
- 2022 · The Pentaverate as Jeremy Irons
- 2018 · An Actor Prepares as Atticus
- 2018 · Better Start Running as Garrison
- 2017 · Their Finest as Secretary of War
- 2016 · The Sultan and the Saint as Narrator
- 2016 · DC Films Presents Dawn of the Justice League as Self
- 2015 · High-Rise as Anthony Royal
- 2015 · The Genius of George Boole as Narrator (voice)
- 2015 · StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson as Self
- 2015 · Metropolis as
- 2014 · The Voysey Inheritance as Edward Voysey
- 2013 · The Sunflower Superjam 2012 as Self
- 2012 · Racing Legends as Self
- 2012 · Shakespeare Uncovered as Himself
- 2010 · Harold Pinter: A Celebration as Self
- 2007 · Lynch 2 as Self
- 2006 · Mathilde as Col. De Petris
- 2005 · Casanova as Pucci
- 2005 · The Merchant of Venice as Himself
- 2003 · Working Shakespeare as Host
- 2003 · The Hittites: A Civilization that Changed the World as Narrator
- 2002 · And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen... as Valentin Valentin
- 2002 · Last Call as F. Scott Fitzgerald
- 2001 · The Fourth Angel as Jack Elgin
- 2001 · The Making of "Dungeons and Dragons" as Self
- 1999 · Faeries as The Shapeshifter (voice)
- 1997 · Chinese Box as John
- 1996 · E! True Hollywood Story as
- 1993 · M. Butterfly as René Gallimard
- 1992 · Waterland as Tom Crick
- 1991 · Kafka as Kafka
- 1990 · Reversal of Fortune as Claus von Bülow
- 1989 · Australia as Edouard Pierson
- 1989 · A Chorus of Disapproval as Guy Jones
- 1988 · Comic Relief as
- 1984 · The Wild Duck as Harold
- 1983 · The Captain's Doll as Captain Alexander Hepburn
- 1982 · Moonlighting as Nowak
- 1980 · Nijinsky as Mikhail Fokine
- 1978 · Langrishe, Go Down as Otto Beck
- 1977 · Love for Lydia as Alex Sanderson
- 1974 · The Pallisers as Frank Tregear
- Future · Rizana: A Caged Bird as Professor Julian Miles
- Future · Encore as Nigel
- Future · Highlander as
- 1974 · Notorious Woman as Franz Liszt
- Future · The Well of Saint Nobody as William
- 1985 · The Statue of Liberty as Self (voice)
- Future · Water People: The Story of Us as The Ocean (voice)
- 2024 · Wild Transylvania – Dracula's Hidden Kingdom as Narrator
- 2024 · The Immortals: The Wonder of the Museo Egizio as
- 2023 · Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled as Self
- 2022 · Prisoners of Our Own History: The First Four Films of Roland Joffé as Self (archive footage)
- 2022 · Eye of the Leopard: Revealed as Narrator (voice)
- 2022 · Eternal Enemies: Revealed as Narrator (voice)
- 2022 · Ultimate Enemies: Revealed as Narrator (voice)
- 2022 · Relentless Enemies: Revealed as Narrator (voice)
- 2022 · Living With Big Cats: Revealed as Narrator
- 2022 · The Way of the Cheetah as Narrator (voice)
- 2021 · Napoleon: In the Name of Art as
- 2021 · Marina Cicogna - La vita e tutto il resto as Self
- 2021 · Armin Mueller-Stahl - Ein Gaukler in Hollywood as Self
- 2021 · Architects of Ancient Arabia as Narrator
- 2020 · Jade Eyed Leopard as Narrator (voice)
- 2019 · The Prado Museum: A Collection of Wonders as Self - Host / Narrator (voice)
- 2016 · I Wish For You as Grandfather
- 2015 · Earthquake On Everest as Narrator (voice)
- 2014 · Endless Corridor as Narrator
- 2013 · Game of Lions as Narrator (voice)
- 2012 · Trashed as Himself
- 2012 · Another Way Home as Narrator
- 2012 · Seeds of Freedom as Narator
- 2011 · The Last Lions as Narrator
- 2009 · The Power of the Powerless as
- 2009 · The Chronoscope as Narrator
- 2008 · Eden at the End of the World as Narrator
- 2007 · J.M.W. Turner: A National Gallery of Art Film Presentation as Narrator
- 2006 · Relentless Enemies: Lions and Buffalo as Narrator (voice)
- 1994 · Inside the Actors Studio as Self
- Future · A Magnificent Death from a Shattered Hand as
- 2013 · Muse of Fire as Self
- 2006 · Eye of the Leopard as Narrator
- 2005 · Gallipoli as Narrator
- 2003 · Ultimate Enemies: Elephants and Lions as Narrator (voice)
- 2003 · Kingdom of David: The Saga of the Israelites as Readings (Voice)
- 2003 · Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There as Self
- 2001 · The Short Life of Anne Frank as Narrator (English version)
- 2000 · Longitude as Rupert Gould
- 1998 · The Lolita Story as Himself
- 1995 · A Night to Die For as Self
- 1994 · The Making of the Lion King as Self
- 1994 · Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! as Self (archive footage)
- 1992 · Tales from Hollywood as Odon Von Horvath
- 1992 · Earth and the American Dream as Reader (voice)
- 1992 · From Time to Time as H.G. Wells
- 1991 · The Beggar's Opera as Prisoner
- 1991 · 'Still Life' at the Penguin Cafe as Narrator
- 1990 · Sesame Street: Sing Yourself Silly! as Self
- 1989 · Danny and the Dirty Dog: The Making of 'Roald Dahl's Danny the Champion of the World' as Narrator
- 1989 · The Dream as
- 1988 · Dead Ringers as Beverly Mantle / Elliot Mantle
- 1988 · The Making of Dead Ringers as Self - Actor
- 1986 · The Mission as Father Gabriel
- 1986 · Rabbit Ears - The Steadfast Tin Soldier as Narrator (voice)
- 1986 · Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary as Self
- 1985 · Night of 100 Stars II as Self
- 1984 · Swann in Love as Charles Swann
- 1983 · Betrayal as Jerry
- 1977 · BBC2 Play of the Week as Otto Beck
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- Future · The Crystal Planet as Governor Mordokan (voice)