Max Brown
Encyclopedia
Max Brown is an English actor. Max was born in Ilkley
, Yorkshire, England, but spent most of his childhood in the town of Shrewsbury
, Shropshire, which he refers to as his home.
With a decade of television and a failed marriage already behind him, Max Brown is currently cavorting about in a codpiece opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the HBO drama The Tudors. He plays the dastardly Edward Seymour, the powerhungry elder brother of Henry VIII's third wife Jane. His break came ten years ago on Children's BBC; first he was heart-throb Danny Hartson in the 25th series of Grange Hill, then he graduated to playing ladies' man Kristian Hargreaves in Hollyoaks, and angelic waiter Mark Russell in Crossroads. He also appeared in episodes of Casualty and Doctors.
He carved himself a niche as a soap pin-up with a catalogue of topless scenes to prove it. 'I don't think I've played typical leading men. I've played guys with emotional problems; I like going to the extremes of people's emotions,' says Max, 28, in Starbucks on Westbourne Grove, looking very urbane in a charcoal Hugo Boss blazer and matching cardigan. 'With Seymour, he's this power-crazed individual, but he knows how to play everybody at court and is just waiting to walk all over them.'
In 2005 Max married actress Pollyanna Rose after dating for five years. They starred together in Paradise Lost, a film about an ill-fated backpacking tour of Brazil, co-starring his friend and star of House, Olivia Wilde. Pollyanna is now based in LA but Max would much rather dwell on the benefits of his new nest in Notting Hill which he shares with current girlfriend Annabelle Horsey. 'I love the fact that Soho is only £10 away in a black cab. It makes a world of difference when you're pissed at three in the morning.'
Annabelle is a Sherborne-educated former model, now studying to be a chef at Leith's cookery school in Chiswick with an upcoming placement at Nobu. 'The public/private school thing is a bone of contention because my dad's a devout socialist. He believes in state investment and public funding, and sending intelligent middle-class kids to state schools. He's quite extreme.'
Max grew up in Shrewsbury and attended the local comprehensive. His father is a civil servant and his mother a governor at the family support charity Home-Start. His older sister is a jewellery buyer for Amazon and his little sister is studying to be a director. 'She's always been a visionary and a great photographer. Hopefully she'll be employing me in a few years' time.'
Last year the nation sighed as he was left heartbroken by Sarah Parish in the BBC's answer to Sex and the City, Mistresses, currently in its second series and pulling in over five million viewers every Tuesday night. But with his latest film Act of God, out later this year, a revenge story in which Max has a vendetta against David Suchet's malevolent surgeon, he hopes to wash away his soap-stud reputation for good. 'I think in the last few years I've come to know what I could do in the future. I think that comes from working with more experienced actors like David. Watching him was a masterclass in acting. He could tell if you were uncomfortable and would say, "I need to go again," and give you a wink.' It also stars British actress Charity Wakefield who has just been cast as the lead in Ally McBeal creator David E Kelley's new drama Legally Mad.
A cab arrives to take Max to the airport for meetings in LA. Although it is the middle of pilot season, the ideal time for British stars like Wakefield to tie up long-term contracts, for now at least, Max won't be committing to the long term because, come June, he'll be repacking his codpiece and heading to Dublin for the fourth six month-long shoot of The Tudors.
, Heartbeat, Mistresses, Foyle's War and The Tudors
. He has also been seen in films including Turistas and Daylight Robbery. In 2010 he played the role of Wagner in Flutter, a British independent comedy, and more recently was cast as MI5
Piracy and Terrorism case officer, Dimitri Levendis, in BBC1's serial drama Spooks
until its final season.
) on 18 December 2005 (whom he had dated for the previous five years) ended in divorce on 15 May 2008. He now lives with Annabelle Horsey, a Sherborne-educated former model, studying to be a chef at Prue Leith's cookery school in Chiswick, in Notting Hill, London.
Ilkley
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in the north of England. Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the metropolitan borough of Bradford. Approximately north of Bradford, the town lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe...
, Yorkshire, England, but spent most of his childhood in the town of Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, Shropshire, which he refers to as his home.
With a decade of television and a failed marriage already behind him, Max Brown is currently cavorting about in a codpiece opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the HBO drama The Tudors. He plays the dastardly Edward Seymour, the powerhungry elder brother of Henry VIII's third wife Jane. His break came ten years ago on Children's BBC; first he was heart-throb Danny Hartson in the 25th series of Grange Hill, then he graduated to playing ladies' man Kristian Hargreaves in Hollyoaks, and angelic waiter Mark Russell in Crossroads. He also appeared in episodes of Casualty and Doctors.
He carved himself a niche as a soap pin-up with a catalogue of topless scenes to prove it. 'I don't think I've played typical leading men. I've played guys with emotional problems; I like going to the extremes of people's emotions,' says Max, 28, in Starbucks on Westbourne Grove, looking very urbane in a charcoal Hugo Boss blazer and matching cardigan. 'With Seymour, he's this power-crazed individual, but he knows how to play everybody at court and is just waiting to walk all over them.'
In 2005 Max married actress Pollyanna Rose after dating for five years. They starred together in Paradise Lost, a film about an ill-fated backpacking tour of Brazil, co-starring his friend and star of House, Olivia Wilde. Pollyanna is now based in LA but Max would much rather dwell on the benefits of his new nest in Notting Hill which he shares with current girlfriend Annabelle Horsey. 'I love the fact that Soho is only £10 away in a black cab. It makes a world of difference when you're pissed at three in the morning.'
Annabelle is a Sherborne-educated former model, now studying to be a chef at Leith's cookery school in Chiswick with an upcoming placement at Nobu. 'The public/private school thing is a bone of contention because my dad's a devout socialist. He believes in state investment and public funding, and sending intelligent middle-class kids to state schools. He's quite extreme.'
Max grew up in Shrewsbury and attended the local comprehensive. His father is a civil servant and his mother a governor at the family support charity Home-Start. His older sister is a jewellery buyer for Amazon and his little sister is studying to be a director. 'She's always been a visionary and a great photographer. Hopefully she'll be employing me in a few years' time.'
Last year the nation sighed as he was left heartbroken by Sarah Parish in the BBC's answer to Sex and the City, Mistresses, currently in its second series and pulling in over five million viewers every Tuesday night. But with his latest film Act of God, out later this year, a revenge story in which Max has a vendetta against David Suchet's malevolent surgeon, he hopes to wash away his soap-stud reputation for good. 'I think in the last few years I've come to know what I could do in the future. I think that comes from working with more experienced actors like David. Watching him was a masterclass in acting. He could tell if you were uncomfortable and would say, "I need to go again," and give you a wink.' It also stars British actress Charity Wakefield who has just been cast as the lead in Ally McBeal creator David E Kelley's new drama Legally Mad.
A cab arrives to take Max to the airport for meetings in LA. Although it is the middle of pilot season, the ideal time for British stars like Wakefield to tie up long-term contracts, for now at least, Max won't be committing to the long term because, come June, he'll be repacking his codpiece and heading to Dublin for the fourth six month-long shoot of The Tudors.
Early life
He grew up in Shrewsbury with his family: Two sisters, Chloe and Phoebe. According to an interview, Max's father is a civil servant and his mother a governor at a family support charity. Max was drawn to acting from an early age after moving schools at a young age. He performed in plays regularly at the local Music Hall in Shrewsbury.Career
He first appeared on screens playing the heartthrob Danny Hartston in Grange Hill (2001). He has gone on to appear in many popular TV shows, including Crossroads, HollyoaksHollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
, Heartbeat, Mistresses, Foyle's War and The Tudors
The Tudors
The Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime...
. He has also been seen in films including Turistas and Daylight Robbery. In 2010 he played the role of Wagner in Flutter, a British independent comedy, and more recently was cast as MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
Piracy and Terrorism case officer, Dimitri Levendis, in BBC1's serial drama Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
until its final season.
Films
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Fallen Angels | Brad | |
| 2006 | True True Lies | Chad | |
| Turistas Turistas Turistas is a 2006 American thriller film directed and produced by John Stockwell. In some regions of the world, such as France, the Republic of Ireland, Malta and the UK, the film has been released under the alternative title Paradise Lost.-Plot:Three young American tourists, Alex , his sister... |
Liam | Also known as Paradise Lost | |
| 2008 | Daylight Robbery Daylight Robbery (2008 film) Daylight Robbery is a 2008 English film directed by Paris Leonti and stars Paul Nicholls and Geoff Bell.-Plot:Alex masterminds an ambitious plan to steal millions of untraceable cash that is stacked in the underground vaults of The London Exchange Bank, waiting for its last journey, Incineration.... |
Doctor | |
| 2009 | Act of God | Richard Short | |
| 2010 | Red Tails Red Tails Red Tails is an upcoming 2012 action drama film directed by Anthony Hemingway, from a screenplay by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder. The story, written by Ridley, is inspired by true events. George Lucas serves as the executive producer for the project... |
Mortamus' Intel Officer | Post-Production |
| Flutter Flutter (film) Flutter is an upcoming British independent dark comedy film about gambling, written by Stephen Leslie and directed by Giles Borg currently filming in England... |
Wagner | Post-Production | |
| 2011 | Love Tomorrow | Dominic | Post-Production |
TV
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–2002 | Grange Hill Grange Hill Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television... |
Danny Hartston | Series regular |
| Crossroads | Mark Russell | Series regular | |
| 2002–2004 | Hollyoaks Hollyoaks Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill... |
Kristian Hargreaves Kristian Hargreaves Kristian Hargreaves is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Max Brown between 2002 and 2004.-Character development:... |
Series regular |
| 2005 | Down to Earth Down to Earth (UK TV series) Down to Earth was a BBC One television series first broadcast in 2000 about a couple who start a new life on a Devon farm. The early episodes of the series were based on a series of books written by Faith Addis about their real-life move from London to Devon.The music in the series was composed by... |
Leon | 1 episode: Tall Tales |
| Doctors | Kenny Parks | 1 episode: Is There a Doctor in the House? | |
| Casualty Casualty (TV series) Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The... |
Simon Broughton | 1 episode: Brief Encounters | |
| 2006 | Heartbeat | Pete Grimshaw | 1 episode: Give Peace a Chance |
| 2008 | Mistresses Mistresses (TV series) Mistresses is a British serial drama television programme that follows the lives of four female friends and their involvement in an array of illicit and complex relationships... |
Sam Grey | Series 1 only |
| 2010 | Foyle's War Foyle's War Foyle's War is a British detective drama television series set during World War II, created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz, and was commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. It has aired on ITV since 2002... |
Adam Wainwright | Series 7 only |
| 2008–2010 | The Tudors The Tudors The Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime... |
Edward Seymour | Series regular |
| 2010-2011 | Spooks Spooks Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a... |
Dimitri LevendIs | Series regular |
Personal life
Marriage to actress Pollyanna Rose (daughter of musician Ray WilliamsRay Williams
Ray Williams may refer to:* Ray Williams , basketball player* Ray Williams , founder of HIH Insurance* Ray Williams , English football player...
) on 18 December 2005 (whom he had dated for the previous five years) ended in divorce on 15 May 2008. He now lives with Annabelle Horsey, a Sherborne-educated former model, studying to be a chef at Prue Leith's cookery school in Chiswick, in Notting Hill, London.