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.