Acting Beesley came to prominence with his first major acting role in
BBC's
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, In 2024, he starred as boxing promoter Henry Collins in
Guy Ritchie's
The Gentleman for
Netflix, alongside
Theo James,
Kaya Scodelario, and
Ray Winstone.
Voice and advertising Beesley is also a voice over artist and has worked for multiple TV advertisements and documentaries including ITV,
NFU Mutual's insurance,
Energizer's lithium batteries, and
PC World. He also provided the voiceover for
Manchester United's season review DVD. He appeared in a TV campaign for the UK recruitment company Jobsite, and was also featured on their homepage.
Music Beesley is also a session musician, and solo artist, having had a successful career before becoming an actor. He was a chorister at
Manchester Cathedral and studied at
Chetham's School of Music. He also studied percussion and classical piano at the
Guildhall School of Music & Drama with
soul singer
Omar and toured with the
Brand New Heavies on keyboards and percussion. He has also toured or recorded with
George Benson,
Earth, Wind & Fire,
Stevie Wonder,
The JB's and
Zero 7. He is also a
vibraphone player. Beesley has performed in concert as a percussionist and pianist for
Robbie Williams,
Take That,
Jamiroquai, and the
Paul Weller Movement. In 2020, he recorded his first solo album titled
Groove Spectrum at
Capitol Studios in Los Angeles with
Grammy-winning producer/mixer
Al Schmitt mixing the album. It features
Paul Weller, Robbie Williams,
Fred Durst,
Lisa Stansfield, jazz pianist
Christian Sands,
Tommy Blaize,
Antonique Smith, John Turrell,
Omar, and Francci Richards. A multi-instrumentalist, Beesley wrote, played, and scored the album. He recorded his first solo instrumental album
Zeus in January 2023 in Los Angeles with luminaries
Steve Gadd, Walt Fowler,
Christian Sands,
Dean Parks,
Luis Conte, and producing collaborator Jerry Meehan on bass. The album will be released towards the end of 2023 through Legere Records and features the vibraphone, one of the instruments Beesley is mainly associated with. He wrote, arranged, mixed, and produced the album under his "Max Beesley's HIGH VIBES" banner, and will tour the record in 2024 in both Europe and Japan. Critics cite the record as being heavily influenced by the music of
Herbie Hancock,
The Brecker Brothers, and vibraphonist
Roy Ayers. ==Filmography==