It feels like Jeremy Irons has been away from our screens for an awfully, terribly, frightfully long time. The heralded actor, who has been everything from evil action movie villain to Oscar-winner to Law & Order guest star, is now back with so many films you might worry he hasn’t got the time to stock up on scarves and tweed suits.
Last month saw him in both High-Rise and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and this week, he’s doing some maths with Dev Patel in the new British drama The Man Who Knew Infinity, where he plays famed mathematician GH Hardy.
But while he’s suddenly become prolific, his latest set of films have a long way to go before joining the ranks of these:
The French Lieutenant’s Woman
This meta take on John Fowles’ historical romance gave Irons the chance to play two characters: a Victorian era palaeontologist and the actor playing him, both of which he did with aplomb, opposite an equally impressive Meryl Streep. Nevertheless, he was snubbed by the Academy.
Dead Ringers
The thrill of playing dual characters appealed to Irons yet again for this unsettling psychological thriller loosely based on a true story. David Cronenberg’s chilly tale had him take on the roles of twin gynaecologists who both fall for the same woman, played by Genevieve Bujold. Yet again he perfected two entirely different characters – one shy and one cocky – in the same film, and at times even in the same scene.
Reversal of Fortune
Irons’ first and only Oscar nomination also led to a win for his performance as the inscrutable socialite Claus von Bülow accused of murdering his wife, played by Glenn Close. The fact-based drama gave him a chance to add a surprising amount of sympathy to a difficult and enigmatic figure.
The Lion King
Irons always makes for a compelling villain, even in his lesser work, and he picked well when signing on to play Scar in one of Disney’s finest films of the 90s. The Hamlet-esque tale of power and brotherly betrayal gave the actor the chance to chew scenery – or rather paper – but he took it to a far more interesting and scary place.
Lolita
Given the sheer perfection of Stanley Kubrick’s 1962 masterful take on an “unfilmable” novel, Adrian Lyne’s 1997 update seemed like a pointless pursuit. And while it might pale in comparison, there’s still a lot to recommend. Irons makes for a layered Humbert, impassioned and tormented, playing a dangerous version of the repressed Englishman we’re so used to seeing him excel as.
