IRONS IN THE FIRING LINE...

BACK FOR A SECOND SERIES OF ACTION-PACKED CONDOR, MAX IRONS TELLS GEORGIA HUMPHREYS ABOUT STUNTS AND HIS SCARY PREPARATION FOR THE ROLE

MAX IRONS got to tick something quite exciting off his career checklist while filming Condor. For a stunt in the American thriller series – based on the film Three Days of the Condor, starring Robert Redford – the London-born actor headed a police convoy.

“I thought that was quite exciting,” says the 34-year-old, whose parents are actors Jeremy Irons and Sinead Cusack.

“They shut off the whole freeway for us. And just time and time again, driving down, followed by a squad of FBI cars with their blues and twos, it was quite good.”

“It’s quite difficult, on occasion, letting that go at the end of the day,” he then quips. “I played the King of England once in a show called The White Queen, and you get very used to everyone bowing to you.”

In Condor, Max plays lead character Joe Turner, a CIA analyst who, in series one, went on the run after his entire team was assassinated. Trying to keep one step ahead of those who want him dead, he also works to uncover a conspiracy within the US government.

The second series finds Joe still wandering around

Europe when his past catches up with him in the form of a mysterious Russian intelligence officer.

“I was thrilled to see the involvement of

Russia on the page,” notes Max, whose other notable roles include the 2014 film, The Riot Club.

“I have a longrunning real, real fascination with the

Cold War, and Russia in general, especially their approach with active measures and their long-running psychological campaign, and asymmetric warfare.

“That’s what the new modern battlefield is, and I think we go down that road in this season, which is interesting, and I also think people will learn a bit because it’s interesting stuff.”

Did he feel pressure coming back for a second series? “No, I didn’t. It’s funny when you’re about to do a show like this, because it’s political inherently, and you’re not getting the whole season at that early stage, you’re getting a couple of episodes, usually setting the scene. So, you’ve got to really trust the writers and producers that they’re going to go down a political road that you stand beside.”

He continues: “There are shows from, I don’t know, 20 years ago – I’m not going to say any names – which had, I would argue, an agenda. It wasn’t the case with Condor and I really believed in the writers. And when you stand behind a show, it’s always a pleasure to come back to.”

It was important for Max, when making a show within the spy genre, that he portrays a nuanced character, and that they explore the cost, emotionally, to people involved.

“We’ve had a good fill of that sort of purely kinetic, kicking down doors, locking guys up, saving the day in the nick of time... I think we’ve had enough of that.

“And now with long-form, long-running, multi-series TV shows, we’ve got enough time and the audiences are clearly interested enough to sit down and invest in the nuances of these stories.

“And when you’re dealing with subjects like we are in the show – you know, long-running American

Max and wife Sophie Pera

Max Irons as Joe Turner in Condor