Blue Steel: Max Irons practices his best model pout
When we meet Max Irons at the Dorchester, to talk about his new film Red Riding Hood (keep an eye out for our full interviews next week), we couldn’t help but notice how unaffected he seems to be by his life. Confident and a little bit cocky, the handsome British actor has grown up around Hollywood royalty, his Mum is Irish actress Sinéad Cusack and his Dad is the award-winning actor Jeremy Irons – AKA ‘the thinking woman’s sex symbol’ (which would be enough to give most young men a bit of a complex in itself).
Max is about to become a household name thanks to his starring role in Red Riding Hood, opposite the beautiful Amanda Seyfried and the gorgeous Shiloh Fernandez. The film’s hype centres around the battle of the two boys, à la Twilight’s Edward and Jacob, as Peter (Fernandez) and Henry (Irons) are pitted against one another for the affections of Valerie (Seyfried).
The film’s director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) is known for launching the careers of Robert Pattinson and Emile Hirsch, which bodes well for Irons. Recalling meeting the 25 year-old actor for the first time Catherine told Elle, “When Max walked in to audition I remember thinking ‘Oh no’. He’s 6’3”, drop dead gorgeous, and has this crazy magnetism.” Catherine also compares his acting ability to Robert Pattinson’s, “Like Rob, Max is fearless and physically throws himself into a character.”
Currently dating Sucker Punch’s Emily Browning, Max is one half of one of Hollywood’s hottest new couples (apart from Max’s stellar acting credentials, Emily is fast on her way to becoming our new favourite style icon here).But where has this guy sprung from? Max’s career began in 2006 when famed photographer Mario Testino spotted him on the street and booked him for a Burberry campaign with Kate Moss. “This big black SUV pulled up and a man got out and said, ‘Hello…I’m Mario, and I’d like you to come meet me for a chat,’” Max told Elle, before adding, “Listen, I know what it sounds like, but don’t go there.”
But will he be decamping to LA now that he’s a fully-fledged movie star, or can we still expect to bump into him down the local? “I think it’s better to add an element of unavailability,” Max says, and we couldn’t agree more!
And what can we expect from his career? Well, he counts Johnny Depp as a role model because “he’s bold and unpredictable and you never see actors like him in the gossip columns.” But Max has no plans to start method acting. “I like to think that at the end of a show you can just take your costume off and go to the pub.” Right, we just need to find out which local that would be then.
There you have it ladies, just a few reasons why handbag hearts… Max Irons. Handbag.com… changing your life, one man at a time.
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