Max Pirkis

Max Pirkis (born 6 January 1989) is an English actor. After appearing in two stage productions during the early 2000s, Pirkis made his film debut in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, after the film crew recruited him at his school, Eton College. In a critically praised performance, he won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer and the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor in an International Film. In 2005, he was cast in the BBC/HBO television series Rome as Gaius Octavian, a role he held for two years.

Early life and education Pirkis was born in London on 6 January 1989. His mother is a publisher, After being educated at Eton College,

Career

Master and Commander Pirkis started his acting in school plays while attending Eton, though he never took them seriously. Pirkis was cast for his first professional role in 2002, when he appeared in the successful film, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

One of four teenage actors chosen for the film, Weir soon discovered that Pirkis had "an old actor's soul in his body," and consequently gave him more acting challenges. Because his character loses an arm, Pirkis wore a prosthetic stump on set; tucking his real arm to the side, he practised how to write and eat using only his left arm. Pirkis completed the amputation scene in two takes, thinking of the death of a family friend for inspiration. and won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer and the Young Artist Award for Best International Performance by a Young Actor at the 25th Young Artist Awards. Pirkis was also nominated for Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role – Male at the 4th Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards. Jeremiah Kipp of Slant Magazine praised Pirkis, writing that he "makes a winning impression as midshipman Lord Blakeney, a pugnacious one-armed lad who imitates the masculine bravado of Crowe and the bookish reserve of Bettany."

Rome In 2005, Pirkis made his television debut. At the beginning of the first season, The Washington Post columnist Tom Shales remarked: "Played both knowingly and innocently by Max Pirkis, he gives the audience something it desperately needs... a character to root for, or at least care about." During the second series, Pirkis was replaced by Simon Woods in order for the show to depict an older version of the character.

Embankment Films In February 2016, Pirkis was appointed head of acquisitions and distribution at Embankment Films.

Filmography