Date of Birth

4 July 1980, Pasadena, California, USA

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

Max Slade was born into a family of actors on July 4th, 1980. He scored his first acting role at the age of eight, as the child version of Steve Martin's character, Gil Buckman, in director Ron Howard's hit comedy Parenthood (1989). The following year, he took a role in the short-lived "Parenthood" (1990) TV series (alongside young Leonardo DiCaprio and Thora Birch), this time playing Gil Buckman's son, Kevin.

Max is perhaps best known for his role as Colt in the children's martial arts films 3 Ninjas (1992), 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994)and 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995). He had studied karate since the age of five and this role provided an opportunity for his acting and martial arts talents to come together. He was the only actor to appear in all three films, his co-stars Michael Treanor and Chad Power having declined to appear in 'Kick Back.' ('Kick Back' and 'Knuckle Up' were released out of order.)

At the age of fourteen, Max worked with Ron Howard for the third time, this time as Tom Hanks' screen son in Apollo 13 (1995). Working on this film was a profoundly inspirational experience for Max; he was particularly struck by Tom Hanks' uncommon level of dedication and focus.

Stepping off the high-budget film set of Apollo 13 (1995), Max took on the final role of his child acting career in an independent action film entitled The Sweeper (1996). This role was, in many ways, his most challenging, as it required him to deliver an emotionally-charged performance during a fast-paced shooting schedule.

At the age of fifteen, Max decided to take an extended leave-of-absence from the acting business in order to focus on school, going on to earn a B.A. in anthropology from USC. He has also found time to focus on music, which he has been passionate about since his child acting days. He currently teaches yoga in Pasadena, California.

After more than a decade of discovering new interests, Max has decided the time is right to re-enter the film industry as an adult.

Trivia

Is the youngest son of John and Betsy. He has one elder brother, Demian Slade (b. 1972), who was also a teen actor.

Still studies martial arts with the same shihan ("master") he has trained with since childhood.

His middle name, Elliott, was misspelled in the '3 Ninjas Knuckle Up' credits as "Elliot.".

He provided the guitar tracks for the song No Way Back on his father John Slade's album Boomer Town (2006).

He is a vegetarian.

Where Are They Now

(May 2001) Is a member of the Los Angeles rock band HADEN.

(June 2003) Max is a bartender in Los Angeles, California. He is also studying anthropology at the University of Southern California.

(March 2007) Teaches kundalini yoga in Pasadena, California.

~ Updated: 2008-12-04 ~