Jeremy Irons
Born
September 19, 1948 (76 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, UK
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

Quintessentially Irish
Self
2024

The Immortals: The Wonder of the Museo Egizio
2024

The Beekeeper
Wallace Westwyld
2024

Codice Carla
Self
2023

Once Upon a Studio
Scar (voice)
2023

The Cello
Francesco
2023

Making The Flash: Worlds Collide
Self - 'Alfred'
2023

The Flash
Alfred Pennyworth
2023

Tom Hanks: The Nomad
Self (archive footage)
2023

Prisoners of Our Own History: The First Four Films of Roland Joffé
Self (archive footage)
2022

Franco Zeffirelli: Rebel Conformist
Self
2022

Eternal Enemies: Revealed
Narrator (voice)
2022

Eye of the Leopard: Revealed
Narrator (voice)
2022

Ultimate Enemies: Revealed
Narrator (voice)
2022

Relentless Enemies: Revealed
Narrator (voice)
2022

Living With Big Cats: Revealed
Narrator
2022

The Way of the Cheetah
Narrator (voice)
2022

Napoleon: In the Name of Art
2021

Marina Cicogna - La vita e tutto il resto
Himself
2021

Architects of Ancient Arabia
Narrator
2021

Broadway: The Next Generation
Self
2017

The Man Who Knew Infinity
G. H. Hardy
2016

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Alfred
2016

Race
Avery Brundage
2016

Correspondence
Ed Phoerum
2016

I Wish For You
Grandfather
2016

High-Rise
Anthony Royal
2015

Earthquake On Everest
Narrator (voice)
2015

The Voysey Inheritance
Edward Voysey
2014

Game of Lions
Narrator (voice)
2013

Muse of Fire
Self
2013
Goodbye Granadaland
Self
2013

Night Train to Lisbon
Raimund
2013

Beautiful Creatures
Macon Ravenwood
2013

Trashed
Himself
2012
Another Way Home
Narrator
2012

The Words
The Old Man
2012

Margin Call
John Tuld
2011

The Last Lions
Narrator
2011
The Majestic Plastic Bag
Narrator
2010

Georgia O'Keeffe
Alfred Stieglitz
2009

Waking Sleeping Beauty
Self (archive footage)
2009

The Pink Panther 2
Avellaneda
2009

Appaloosa
Randall Bragg
2008

1984
Television Voice
2008

Eden at the End of the World
Narrator
2008

Lynch 2
Self
2007

Eragon
Brom
2006

Inland Empire
Kingsley Stewart
2006
The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall
Self
2006

Eye of the Leopard
Narrator
2006

Mathilde
Col. De Petris
2006

Casanova
Pucci
2005

Revisiting Brideshead
Self
2005

Kingdom of Heaven
Tiberias
2005

Gallipoli
Narrator
2005

The Merchant of Venice
Antonio
2004

Being Julia
Michael Gosselyn
2004

The Hittites: A Civilization that Changed the World
Narrator
2003

Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
Self
2003

Callas Forever
Larry Kelly
2002

And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen...
Valentin Valentin
2002

Last Call
F. Scott Fitzgerald
2002

Ohio Impromptu
Reader / Listener
2002

The Time Machine
Über-Morlock
2002

The Fourth Angel
Jack Elgin
2001

Dungeons & Dragons
Profion
2000

Longitude
Rupert Gould
2000

The Man in the Iron Mask
Aramis
1998

Chinese Box
John
1997

Lolita
Humbert Humbert
1997

Stealing Beauty
Alex Parrish
1996

Die Hard: With a Vengeance
Simon
1995

The Lion King
Scar (voice)
1994

The House of the Spirits
Esteban Trueba
1993

M. Butterfly
René Gallimard
1993

Damage
Dr. Stephen Fleming
1992

Waterland
Tom Crick
1992

Kafka
Kafka
1991

Reversal of Fortune
Claus von Bülow
1990

Sesame Street: Sing Yourself Silly!
Self
1990

A Chorus of Disapproval
Guy Jones
1989

Danny the Champion of the World
William Smith
1989

Dead Ringers
Beverly Mantle / Elliot Mantle
1988

The Mission
Father Gabriel
1986

Moonlighting
Nowak
1982

The French Lieutenant's Woman
Charles Henry Smithson / Mike
1981
A Magnificent Death from a Shattered Hand

The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl
Self
2025

Alec Guinness: A Class Act
self
2024

Wild Transylvania – Dracula's Hidden Kingdom
Narrator
2024

Seeing Through the Mists of Oblivion
Traveller (archived audio)
2023

Birds Like Us
Mi (voice)
2022

Munich – The Edge of War
Neville Chamberlain
2021

House of Gucci
Rodolfo Gucci
2021

Armin Mueller-Stahl - Ein Gaukler in Hollywood
Self
2021

Zack Snyder's Justice League
Alfred
2021

Love, Weddings & Other Disasters
Lawrence Philips
2020

Jade Eyed Leopard
Narrator (voice)
2020

The Prado Museum: A Collection of Wonders
Self - Host / Narrator (voice)
2019

An Actor Prepares
Atticus
2018

Better Start Running
Garrison
2018

Red Sparrow
Vladimir Korchnoi
2018

Justice League
Alfred
2017

Their Finest
Secretary of War
2017

Assassin's Creed
Alan Rikkin
2016

The Sultan and the Saint
Narrator
2016

DC Films Presents Dawn of the Justice League
Self
2016

The Genius of George Boole
Narrator (voice)
2015
Emotional Uncertainties
Self
2015

Endless Corridor
Narrator
2014

The Sunflower Superjam 2012
Self
2013
The Wind Gods
Narrator (voice)
2013

The Making of "Dungeons and Dragons"
Self
2001

Night of 100 Stars II
Self
1985
The Well of Saint Nobody
William
Encore
Nigel

Seeds of Freedom
Narator
2012

Harold Pinter: A Celebration
Self
2010

The Power of the Powerless
2009

J.M.W. Turner: A National Gallery of Art Film Presentation
Narrator
2007

The Path to Redemption
Self
2006

The Merchant of Venice
Himself
2005

The Short Life of Anne Frank
Narrator (English version)
2001

The Lolita Story
Himself
1998

The Making of the Lion King
Self
1994

Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Self (archive footage)
1994

Earth and the American Dream
Reader (voice)
1992

'Still Life' at the Penguin Cafe
Narrator
1991

Danny and the Dirty Dog: The Making of 'Roald Dahl's Danny the Champion of the World'
Narrator
1989
The Dream
1989

Sesame Street | Put Down the Duckie: An All-Star Musical Special
Self
1988

The Making of Dead Ringers
Self - Actor
1988
Rabbit Ears - The Steadfast Tin Soldier
Narrator (voice)
1986

Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary
Self
1986

The Statue of Liberty
Self (voice)
1985

The Captain's Doll
Captain Alexander Hepburn
1983
Palestine 36
The Crystal Planet
Governor Mordokan (voice)
Water People: The Story of Us
The Ocean (voice)

Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled
Self · (3 episodes)
2023

The Pentaverate
Jeremy Irons · (6 episodes)
2022

The Morning Show
Martin Levy · (10 episodes)
2019

Heart of the Festival
2002
Rizana: A Caged Bird
Professor Julian Miles

The Count of Monte Cristo
Abbé Faria · (8 episodes)
2025

Watchmen
Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias · (9 episodes)
2019

StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson
Self · (1 episode)
2015

Metropolis
(5 episodes)
2015

Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self · (2 episodes)
2014

Racing Legends
Self · (1 episode)
2012

The Hollow Crown
Henry IV · (2 episodes)
2012

Shakespeare Uncovered
Himself · (1 episode)
2012

Prohibition
Reader (voice) · (3 episodes)
2011

The Borgias
Rodrigo Borgia · (29 episodes)
2011

The Chronoscope
Narrator
2009

The Colour of Magic
Patrician · (2 episodes)
2008

The One Show
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2006

Relentless Enemies: Lions and Buffalo
Narrator (voice)
2006

Elizabeth I
Earl of Leicester · (2 episodes)
2005

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Self · (1 episode)
2005

Who Do You Think You Are?
Self · (1 episode)
2004

Ultimate Enemies: Elephants and Lions
Narrator (voice)
2003

Working Shakespeare
Host · (5 episodes)
2003

Kingdom of David: The Saga of the Israelites
Readings (Voice) · (4 episodes)
2003

Longitude
Rupert Gould · (2 episodes)
2000

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Dr. Cap Jackson · (2 episodes)
1999

Faeries
The Shapeshifter (voice)
1999

The View
Self · (3 episodes)
1997

E! True Hollywood Story
(1 episode)
1996

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
Self
1995

A Night to Die For
Self
1995

Inside the Actors Studio
Self · (1 episode)
1994

Brisant
Self · (1 episode)
1994

Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1993

Tales from Hollywood
Odon Von Horvath
1992

HBO First Look
(1 episode)
1992

Performance
Odon Von Horvath · (1 episode)
1991

The Beggar's Opera
Prisoner
1991

The Civil War
Various · (9 episodes)
1990

The Simpsons
Bar Rag (voice) · (1 episode)
1989

Australia
Edouard Pierson
1989
Comic Relief
(1 episode)
1988
Daytime Live
(1 episode)
1987

The Wild Duck
Harold
1984

Swann in Love
Charles Swann
1984

Betrayal
Jerry
1983

Nature
Narrator · (1 episode)
1982

Brideshead Revisited
Charles Ryder · (11 episodes)
1981

Wetten, dass..?
Self · (1 episode)
1981

Nijinsky
Mikhail Fokine
1980

Langrishe, Go Down
Otto Beck
1978

BBC2 Play of the Week
Otto Beck · (1 episode)
1977

Love for Lydia
Alex Sanderson · (13 episodes)
1977

Saturday Night Live
Self - Host · (1 episode)
1975

Notorious Woman
Franz Liszt · (7 episodes)
1974

The Pallisers
Frank Tregear · (26 episodes)
1974

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
Nephew · (1 episode)
1971

Great Performances
Self · (1 episode)
1971

BBC Play of the Month
Edward Voysey · (1 episode)
1965

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · (1 episode)
1962

Tony Awards
Self - Host · (1 episode)
1956

The Oscars
Self · (4 episodes)
1953