Max Slade, a young actor born into a family of actors, made his acting debut at the tender age of eight in the comedy Parenthood (1989),directed by Ron Howard, where he played the child version of Steve Martin's character, Gil Buckman.
The following year, Max took on 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 most famously known for his role as Colt in the popular children's martial arts films 3 Ninjas (1992),3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994),and 3 Ninjas: Knuckle Up (1995). Having studied karate since the age of five, this role allowed him to combine his acting and martial arts skills.
Interestingly, Max was the only actor to appear in all three films, with his co-stars Michael Treanor and Chad Power declining to appear in the second film, 3 Ninjas Kick Back. Notably, the release order of the films was not chronological, with 'Kick Back' and 'Knuckle Up' being 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 the critically acclaimed film Apollo 13 (1995). Max's final film appearance was in the independent action film The Sweeper (1996).
Max eventually decided to quit acting professionally at the age of 15 in order to focus on his education, going on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from the University of Southern California (USC).
