Born in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England; educated at the Sherbourne School (Dorset) and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Classically trained actor who first came to prominence in the TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited" (1981). In 1984, he debuted on Broadway opposite Glenn Close in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing and, in the mid-80s, he appeared in three lead roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Irons has specialized in playing haunted upper-class types, frequently in period roles, and has achieved star status without compromising his reputation as a serious actor. He gave a bravura performance as the deranged twin brother protagonists of David Cronenberg's DEAD RINGERS (1988) and won an Oscar® as haughty international playboy and murder suspect Claus von Bulow in Barbet Schroeder's REVERSAL OF FORTUNE (1990). Other roles: a paranoid insurance clerk in Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller, KAFKA (1991); a history teacher haunted by memories of childhood in WATERLAND (1992); and a Conservative English politician undone by an obsessive affair with his son's girlfriend in DAMAGE (also 1992). Other notable credits include THE MISSION (1986), FROM TIME TO TIME (1992), M. BUTTERFLY and THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS (both 1993), DIE HARD: WITH A VENGEANCE (1995), STEALING BEAUTY (1996), LOLITA (1997), THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK (1998), THE FOURTH ANGEL and NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (both 2001), THE TIME MACHINE, AND NOW... LADIES AND GENTLEMEN and CALLAS FOREVER (all 2002), MATHILDE, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE and BEING JULIA (all 2004), KINGDOM OF HEAVEN and CASANOVA (both 2005), INLAND EMPIRE and ERAGON (both 2006), and APPALOOSA (scheduled for 2008). His 1969 marriage to acress Julie Hallam was annulled. Married to actress Sinéad Cusack since 1978; they have 2 children.  Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 1990: REVERSAL OF FORTUNE 1 nomination, 1 Award