Jeremy Irons' son to play Jared Howe in film of Twilight author's The Host

Jeremy Irons' actor son Max has landed the coveted leading man role in the movie adaptation of Twilight author Nancy Meyer's sci-fi tale The Host.

The 26 year old will play Jared Howe in the Andrew Niccol movie, according to EW.com.

Reports suggest he beat out Miley Cyrus' boyfriend Liam Hemsworth and Kit Harrington for the part.

The film, which starts shooting in Louisiana in February (12), stars Saoirse Ronan as a young woman who shares her body with an alien force known as Wanderer.

Ronan's The Lovely Bones co-star Jake Abel is still in talks to play Ian in the film, according to Variety.