Date of Birth

4 December 1980, Pasadena, California, USA

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

Born into a family of actors, Max Slade 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 skills 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). Max's final film appearance was in the independent action film The Sweeper (1996).

Max quit acting professionally at age 15 in order to focus on school, going on to earn a B.A. in anthropology from USC.

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 Currie Slade's album Boomer Town (2006).
• Teaches kundalini yoga in Pasadena, California. [March 2007]
• Is studying mixed martial arts at Legends Training Center in Los Angeles. [January 2010]
• Max is a bartender in Los Angeles, California. He is also studying anthropology at the University of Southern California. [June 2003]
• Is a member of the Los Angeles rock band HADEN. [May 2001]

Quotes

• Caring for friends opens the heart, and gifts us with the privilege of sharing the fruits of our self-imposed and necessary solitude.
• The process of art-making is full of happy accidents - what fun!
• Change shakes us up, and we can thank our Muse for it... we are driven by change to create, to excel, and to become better humans, perhaps even more sensitive humans!