This story first appeared in the June 2012 Special Emmy Issue of The Hollywood Reporter.
A rainy April afternoonin New York finds Jeremy Irons, 63, chain-smoking hand-rolled cigarettes (he buys the tobacco at airport duty free shops) in his suite at the Upper East Side boutique Lowell Hotel. He is enjoying a moment away from his peripatetic work schedule: In addition to playing the lead on Showtimes The Borgias, which shoots in Budapest, the British Oscar winner (Reversal of Fortune) also has completed work on Bille Augusts Night Train to Lisbon, shot on location in Portugal, and is shooting Richard LaGraveneses BeautifulCreatures in New Orleans. With his signature candor, Irons shares his take on the bullshit of fame, how a revealing dinner at the Vatican prepped him for his role as Renaissance Pope Rodrigo Borgia and the two American actors who have intimidated him.
The Hollywood Reporter: What drives you to keep working?
Jeremy Irons: Its a bit of a drug. But its important that you have a very strong life with other passions that counter balances the work so that you know why youre working. Fame and success are valueless. We have a culture where everybody wants to be famous. And you think, why? Because were being told that will bring happiness. And its all bullshit. Admittedly, its very nice wandering down the street and people saying, Hi, love your work; and going into a restaurant and people saying, Oh, well find you a table. The whole worlds your village. But you have to put up with everybody wanting to know your business.
THR: How long do you see yourself playing Rodrigo Borgia?
Irons: I ask myself that every day. And I ask [creator and executive producer] Neil Jordan that every day. When they originally asked me to do it, they said, Listen, it might run for four years. And I gasped! But Neil is a filmmaker. So in a way, hes educating himself to write for television. This makes the series a little slower than Showtime would like. But weve picked it up a bit, shorter scenes and more [snaps fingers] in season two.
THR: Do you like Borgia as a character?
Irons: You cant play someone and not like him. You are inside him, and they are you. I like Borgias appetite; I like that he eats life, wont take shit and that he has flaws. Hes not a good guy, hes not a bad guy, hes a guy. Hes power hungry; he doesnt want to waste his time in this life. I share that with him. Im not power hungry, just easily bored and want to make the most of the four score years and 10, if Im lucky, while Im on the planet.
THR: I read somewhere that when Borgias started shooting, you had dinner with an archbishop.What was that experience like?
Irons: Yes, it was at the Vatican. When he asked me in the door, he said, You are now safe; no one can get you here; you are diplomatically immune. I thought, Well, thats nice to know; Ill put that address in my book. We shared a bottle of wine in his kitchen, which was prettyspartan. And around 11 oclock, we went to the roof to have a cigarette, and he pointed over the rooftops to a cell of lighted windows and said, "Theres Rodrigo Borgias modern counterpart; hes still awake, doesnt sleep much, sits and plays his piano. Then we went downstairs, by which time [the archbishops] mistress had arrived.
THR: Youre allowed to have a mistress in the Vatican?
Irons: It would seem so.
THR: Who was this person?
Irons: It would be wrong to mention names. But all I can say is that nothing really has changed. We now think that the pope is next to God. Well, in those days the pope was head of the Church but behaved as any man would behave or most men would behave.
THR: Are you Catholic?
Irons: Not really. I was baptized Church of England. My children are Catholic; my wife is Catholic. But Im not really a club member, never have been. I go to Mass because I enjoy times of reflection. But Im not a regular at all.
THR:How pigeonholed have you felt as an actor?
Irons: Youre always pigeonholed a bit. I do play the occasional American character, butIm thought of as an English actor. Im tall, slim and do bring a certain thing. You cant get away from that. Im never going to be cast as a sort of Danny DeVito character.
THR: Well, you have done a few projects with comedic elements.
Irons: Glad youve noticed! I seem to be known as enigmatic: Is he good, is he bad? Can we trust him, or is he just evil?
THR: But certainly no one has accused you of being Mr. Sunshine.
Irons: No, but I can show you a few films where I was Mr. Sunshine although theres always a touch of melancholia. I try not to put my feet in the footsteps that Ive been in before. All actors have a certain smell. You can say thats a Jeremy Irons role, thats an Al Pacino role, or thats a De Niro role. My biggest competition for roles is maybe Alan Rickman, in a way, or Bill Hurt. Its all about the work youve done that adds up to your aroma.
THR: Youve worked opposite fellow Oscar winners Meryl Streep, Kevin Spacey and Helen Mirren. Do better actors make you better?
Irons: Yes. Its like tennis; it ups your game if you have someone playing good tennis against you.
THR: Have you ever been intimidated by one of your co-stars?
Irons: De Niro used to intimidate me. He doesnt give any quarter, but hes mellowed now.And Al Pacino is quite intimidating.
THR:Any leading ladies?
Irons: Intimidated me? No.
Email: Marisa.Guthrie@thr.com; Twitter: @MarisaGuthrie
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