[4] Although unsure what he wanted to do with his life,[8] Pirkis was cast for his first professional role in 2002, when he appeared in the successful film, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
[8] Pirkis attended a workshop and auditions as "a joke", ultimately securing the part of the 13-year-old, eventually one-armed midshipman Lord Blakeney of HMS Surprise.
[14] Pirkis was also nominated for Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role – Male at the 4th Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.
[15] Jeremiah Kipp of Slant Magazine praised Pirkis, writing that he "makes a winning impression as midshipman Lord Blakeney, a pugnacious one-armed lad who imitates the masculine bravado of Crowe and the bookish reserve of Bettany.
[17][18] At the beginning of the first season, The Washington Post columnist Tom Shales remarked: "Played both knowingly and innocently by Max Pirkis, he gives the audience something it desperately needs... a character to root for, or at least care about.
"[19] During the second series, Pirkis was replaced by Simon Woods in order for the show to depict an older version of the character.