The Untold Truth Of Jeremy Irons

Irons fell in love with acting as a drama student, and he was known for his work in theater before he began acting in movies and TV shows. Today, Irons still has a deep appreciation for theater acting, and he does return to the stage every now and then. When he took on an emotionally intense role as James Tyrone in a 2016 production of A Long Day's Journey Into the Night, he said that he was motivated to play the part because he needed "a workout."

Irons finds that acting in plays challenges him in a way that acting in movies or TV shows simply doesn't. "You can get a bit lazy, film acting," Irons explained in an interview with The Arts Desk. "You don't have to play a long phrase of three hours, you don't have to communicate to an audience, you're just communicating with a camera. Yes, you have to think, but you're thinking in much shorter spans. You're able to knit little bits together." Of course, when you're in the middle of a scene on stage, there are no breaks, and sometimes, an artist like Jeremy Irons needs that kind of pressure.