Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson

Neeson at the TIFF premiere of The Other Man, September 7, 2008
Born Liam John Neeson
7 June 1952 (1952-06-07) (age 58)
Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Occupation Actor
Years active 1973–present
Spouse Natasha Richardson
(1994-2009; her death)

Liam John Neeson, OBE (born 7 June 1952) is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe and a BAFTA.

He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Alfred Kinsey in Kinsey, and the voice of Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia film series. He has also starred in several other notable films, including The Dead Pool, Darkman, Rob Roy, Nell, Gangs of New York, Love Actually, Kingdom of Heaven, Batman Begins, Taken, Chloe, Clash of the Titans, and The A-Team.

He was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, and educated there and at Queen's University Belfast. He moved to Dublin after university to further his acting career, joining the renowned Abbey Theatre. In the early 1990s, he moved again to America, where the wide acclaim for his performance in Schindler's List led to more high-profile work. He is widowed and lives in New York with his two sons.

Contents

Early life

Neeson was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, the son of Katherine "Kitty" (née Brown), a cook, and Bernard "Barney" Neeson, a caretaker at the local Catholic boys' primary school (Ballymena Boys All Saints Primary School).[1] He was raised Roman Catholic[2][3] and was called Liam, Irish for William, after the local priest.[4] He was the third child in the family and the only boy among four siblings; his sisters are Elizabeth, Bernadette and Rosaline.[5] At age nine, Neeson began boxing lessons at the All Saints Youth Club, and later became Ulster amateur senior boxing champion.[6] It was at age eleven that Neeson first stepped on stage. His English teacher gave him the lead role in a school play, which he accepted because the girl he was attracted to would be starring.[7] From then on, he kept acting in school productions for the following years.[8] His interest in acting and decision to become an actor was also influenced by minister Ian Paisley, whose church Neeson would sneak into. Neeson has said of Paisley that "He had a magnificent presence and it was incredible to watch this six foot-plus man just bible-thumping away...It was acting but it was also great acting and stirring too."[9]

Neeson was enrolled in 1971 as a physics and computer science undergraduate student at Queen's University Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland, before leaving to work for Guinness.[10]

Career

1978 - 1999

After leaving the university, Neeson returned to Ballymena and worked in a variety of casual jobs, from fork-lift operator at Guinness to truck driver. He also worked at a teacher-training college in Newcastle for two years before again returning to his home-town. Neeson would get his first film experience in 1978, playing Jesus Christ and Evangelist in the religious film, Pilgrim's Progress directed by Ken Anderson. Following a bet from co-workers at the architects' office where he worked, Neeson successfully auditioned at the Lyric Players' Theatre in Belfast (now being renovated. liam donated to this event),[11] appearing in successful adaptations of plays such as Brian Friel's Translations. After two years there, Neeson moved to Dublin in 1978 after he was offered a part in a production at the Project Arts Centre. The play was Ron Hutchinson's "Says I, Says He", a drama about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Neeson acted in several other Project productions and joined the Abbey Theatre in 1978. In 1980, film-maker John Boorman saw him on stage, acting as Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men, and offered him the part of Sir Gawain in the upcoming Arthurian movie, Excalibur. After Excalibur, Neeson moved to London, where he continued working on stage, small budget movies and TV series. He lived with the actress Helen Mirren at this time, whom he met working on Excalibur.[12] Between 1982 and 1987, Neeson starred in five films; most notably alongside Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in 1984's The Bounty and Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons in 1986's The Mission.

In 1987, Neeson made a conscious decision to move to Hollywood in order to star in high-profile roles.[12] That year, he starred alongside Cher and Dennis Quaid in Suspect. The role brought Neeson critical applause, but it was 1990's Darkman that would bring his name to public attention. Although the film was successful, Neeson's following years would not give him the same recognition. In 1993, he joined Ellis Island co-star and future wife Natasha Richardson in the Broadway play Anna Christie. (They also worked together in Nell, released the following year.) He recited the Van Morrison song "Coney Island" on the 1994 Van Morrison tribute album, No Prima Donna: The Songs of Van Morrison. A single was also released with Neeson's version.

Director Steven Spielberg, impressed by his performance in Nell, offered him the coveted role of Oskar Schindler in the film about the Holocaust, Schindler's List.[13] His critically acclaimed performance later earned him a nomination for a Best Actor Oscar; however, the award went to Tom Hanks for his performance in Philadelphia. Neeson also garnered BAFTA and Golden Globes nominations for Schindler's List.

Schindler's List established Neeson as a widely sought after leading actor. He later starred in period pieces Rob Roy (1995) and Michael Collins (1996), the latter earning him another Golden Globe nomination and a win for Best Starring Role at the Venice Film Festival. Neeson went on to star as Jean Valjean in the 1998 adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables and in The Haunting (1999) as Dr. David Marrow.

Star Wars

In 1999, Neeson starred as Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn, in director George Lucas' Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. As it was the first Star Wars film to be released in over sixteen years, it was surrounded by a large amount of anticipation from the media. Despite several critics' and fans' beliefs that the film failed to live up to expectations, The Phantom Menace was an enormous box-office success and remains the most financially successful Star Wars film unadjusted for inflation.[14] Qui-Gon's voice, provided by Neeson, would later be heard during a brief scene in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002). Qui-Gon was supposed to make an appearance in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) as a Force Ghost, and Neeson had hinted at involvement.[15] However, he was ultimately unable to appear due to a motorcycle injury, and his character is only mentioned in the film.[16]

2001 - present

Neeson narrated the 2001 documentaries Journey Into Amazing Caves and The Endurance: Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure. After being nominated for a Tony Award for his role opposite Laura Linney in The Crucible, Neeson teamed up with Harrison Ford in Kathryn Bigelow's submarine thriller K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) as Captain Mikhail Polenin and appeared in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brendan Gleeson, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis). He also played a recently widowed writer in Richard Curtis' ensemble comedy Love Actually (2003).[17] His role as Alfred Kinsey in Kinsey again put Neeson up for nomination for a Golden Globe Award but he lost out to Leonardo DiCaprio for The Aviator. In 2004, Neeson hosted an episode of the NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live. He starred as a redneck trucker, Marlon Weaver, in an "Appalachian Emergency Room" sketch and a hippie in a one-off sketch about two stoners (the other played by Amy Poehler) who attempt to borrow a police dog in order to find their lost stash of marijuana. Despite vowing not to play any characters who were Irish stereotypes, Neeson did play a stereotypically Irish man named Lorken McArdle in the home makeover show parody "You Call This A House, Do Ya?"[18] In 2005, Neeson played Godfrey of Ibelin in Ridley Scott's epic adventure Kingdom of Heaven, Ra's al Ghul, one of the main villains in Batman Begins, and as Father Bernard in Neil Jordan's adaptation of Patrick McCabe's novel, Breakfast on Pluto. Also in 2005, he voiced the role of a kindly priest on The Simpsons, who converted Bart and Homer to Catholicism.[19] That same year, he gave his voice to the lion Aslan in the blockbuster fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.[20] A year later, he narrated the documentary Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity.

In 2007, Neeson starred in the American Civil War epic Seraphim Falls alongside Pierce Brosnan and Anjelica Huston. He is also set to star as Abraham Lincoln in a film directed by Steven Spielberg.[21] In preparation for the role, Neeson visited Washington, D.C., Springfield, Illinois where Lincoln lived prior to being elected, and read Lincoln's personal letters. He also visited Ford's Theatre, where the President was shot.[22] He again gave his voice to Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008).[23]

Neeson's voice is featured in the video game Fallout 3 as the main character's father, James.[24] The executive producer of the game, Todd Howard, said "This role was written with Liam in mind, and provides the dramatic tone for the entire game".[25] Fallout 3, the third game in the Fallout series, has been extremely well received by critics and had sold 4.7 million copies of the PC version alone by the end of 2008, the year it was released.[26]

In the director's commentary of the 2007 Transformers DVD, Michael Bay said that he had told the animators to seek inspiration from Liam Neeson in creating Optimus Prime's body language.

Neeson appeared as Alistair Little in the BBC Northern Ireland/Big Fish Films television drama Five Minutes of Heaven, which tells the true story of a young Protestant man convicted of murdering a Catholic boy during The Troubles.[27]

He starred in the action movie Taken in 2008, which was a French film also starring Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace. It is based on a script by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen and was directed by Pierre Morel. Neeson plays a retired Central Intelligence Agency operative from their elite Special Activities Division who sets about tracking down his teenage daughter after she is kidnapped for sexual slavery while travelling in Europe. Taken was a huge worldwide box office hit, grossing $223,882,658 worldwide and making almost $200,000,000 more than its initial budget.

Neeson has wrapped filming the psychological thriller After.Life with Christina Ricci and Justin Long.[28] He also provided a voice for Hayao Miyazaki's anime film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, which received an August 2009 release.[29]

In 2010, Neeson played the Greek God Zeus in the remake of the 1981 film, Clash of the Titans. The film went on becoming a huge box office hit and grossing $475 million worldwide.[30]

Neeson also starred in the erotic thriller Chloe, theatrically released by Sony Pictures Classics on March 26, 2010. The film grossed $3 million in the United States theatrically and became one of the higher-grossing specialty films in the United States in 2010[31] (according to Variety, "$3 million is the new $10 million" for specialty films' box office in 2010).[32] Later the same year, he played John "Hannibal" Smith in the spin-off movie from the TV series The A Team.[33][34]

In 2010, Neeson will also voice the character Aslan once again in The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

He has played several characters based on real people, including Schindler, Collins, and Kinsey, and is set to play Abraham Lincoln in a 2011 Steven Spielberg-directed biographical film based on the book Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.[21]

Director Lee Daniels has confirmed that Neeson will play former U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson in Daniels' developing film Selma, which is about Martin Luther King Jr., Johnson, and the civil rights marches.[35]

Neeson also starred as Ben Ryan in the drama Before and After alongside Meryl Streep. This film was about how a family dealt with the aftereffects of a murder their son was accused of committing.

It was announced in July 2010 that Neeson would guest-star on the new Showtime series The Big C.[36]

Personal life

Neeson was married to actress Natasha Richardson from 3 July 1994 until her death on 18 March 2009, when Richardson suffered a severe head injury sustained in a skiing accident at the Mont Tremblant Resort in the Canadian province of Quebec. Richardson and Neeson have two sons: Micheál (born 1995) and Daniel (born 1996). Neeson lives in Millbrook, New York. In August 2004 Neeson and his wife purchased an additional sixteen acres next to their estate.[37]

A heavy smoker earlier in his career, Neeson has since quit smoking. When he took the role of Hannibal for the 2010 film adaptation of The A-Team, Neeson had reservations to smoking cigars (which is a signature trait of the Hannibal character) in the film due to being an ex-smoker, but agreed to keep that personality trait of Hannibal intact for the film.[38]

Neeson was offered the 'Freedom of the Town of Ballymena' by Ballymena Borough Council, but because of objections made by members of the Democratic Unionist Party regarding his comments that he had felt like a 'second-class citizen' growing up as a Catholic in the town, he declined the award, citing tensions. Neeson continues to practice the Catholic faith and has raised his children as Catholics. He has also expressed admiration for The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola.[39]

He was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (an OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in her 1999 New Year's Honours List. The American Ireland Fund honoured Liam Neeson with their Performing Arts Award for the great distinction he has brought to Ireland at their 2008 Dinner Gala in New York.

In August 2009, Neeson stated on ABC's Good Morning America that he had been naturalized as a United States citizen.[40]

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1978 Pilgrim's Progress Evangelist And Jesus Christ
1981 Excalibur Gawain
1982 Merlin and the Sword Grak alternate title Arthur the King
1983 Krull Kegan
1984 The Bounty Charles Churchill
Ellis Island Kevin Murray
1986 The Mission Fielding
Duet for One Totter
Lamb Michael Lamb
1987 Suspect Carl Anderson
A Prayer for the Dying Liam Docherty
1988 Satisfaction Martin Falcon
High Spirits Martin Brogan
The Dead Pool Peter Swan
The Good Mother Leo Cutter
1989 Next of Kin Briar Gates
1990 Darkman Peyton Westlake/Darkman Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actor
The Big Man Danny Scoular
1991 Under Suspicion Tony Aaron
1992 Husbands and Wives Michael Gates
Leap of Faith Will
Shining Through Franz-Otto Dietrich
1993 Ethan Frome Ethan Frome
Deception Dr. Fergus Lamb alternate title Ruby Cairo
Schindler's List Oskar Schindler Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor & Best Picture
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
1994 Nell Dr. Jerome 'Jerry' Lovell
1995 Rob Roy Robert Roy MacGregor
1996 Michael Collins Michael Collins Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor
Volpi Cup
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Before and After Ben Ryan
1998 Les Misérables Jean Valjean
Everest Narrator
1999 The Haunting Dr. David Marrow
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Qui-Gon Jinn Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actor
2000 Gun Shy Charlie Mayo
2001 Journey into Amazing Caves Narrator
2002 The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition Narrator
K-19: The Widowmaker Mikhail Polenin
Gangs of New York 'Priest' Vallon
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Qui-Gon Jinn voice only, uncredited
Evolution: What About God? Narrator
2003 Love Actually Daniel Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
Coral Reef Adventure Narrator
2004 Kinsey Alfred Kinsey Irish Film Awards - Best Actor Film
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male
Nominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the Year
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
2005 The Simpsons Father Sean voice (The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star)
Kingdom of Heaven Godfrey of Ibelin
Batman Begins Henri Ducard/Ra's al Ghul Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
Breakfast on Pluto Father Liam
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Aslan voice
2007 Seraphim Falls Carver
The Birth of Christ Narrator
2008 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Aslan voice
The Other Man Peter
Fallout 3 James (Dad) Video game (voice)
Taken Bryan Mills
2009 Five Minutes of Heaven Alistair Little Nominated — Irish Film & Television Award for Actor in a Lead Role (Television)[41]
Ponyo Fujimoto voice
After.Life Eliot
2010 Chloe David
Clash of the Titans Zeus
The A-Team John "Hannibal" Smith
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Aslan voice
The Next Three Days Damon post-production
2011 Unknown White Male Dr. Martin Harris post-production
Selma Lyndon B. Johnson pre-production

References

  1. ↑ "Liam Neeson Biography". http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/liam_neeson_biog.html. Retrieved 2007-04-18. 
  2. ↑ Blaney, Retta. "Acting Is a Form of Prayer". Beliefnet. http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Movies/2003/10/Acting-Is-A-Form-Of-Prayer.aspx?p=1. Retrieved May 9, 2010. 
  3. ↑ "Liam Neeson: Bloody Sunday made me learn my history". The Belfast Telegraph. April 1, 2010. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/liam-neeson-bloody-sunday-made-me-learn-my-history-14251304.html. Retrieved May 9, 2010. : (Commentary; “ Hollywood superstar Liam Neeson has told how he grew up in a religious Catholic background untouched by the Troubles.”)
  4. ↑ Mansfield, Stephanie (1993-12). "Liam Neeson Puts the Kettle On". GQ. 
  5. ↑ "Liam Neeson". http://www.nndb.com/people/667/000023598/. Retrieved 2007-04-18. 
  6. ↑ "Star who shone in the boxing ring". BBC News Online. 2006-12-13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6175251.stm. Retrieved 2007-04-18. 
  7. ↑ Frankel, Martha (1990-12). "'Man' of the Year". American Film. 
  8. ↑ Dewson, Lisa (1986-06). "A Man With a Mission". Photoplay (UK). 
  9. ↑ "Neeson Reveals Paisley Influence". BBC News Online. 2007-12-05. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7128424.stm. Retrieved 2007-12-05. 
  10. ↑ "Liam Neeson graduates 40 years on". BBC News Online. 2009-05-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8037845.stm. Retrieved 2009-06-09. 
  11. ↑ West, Carinthia (1990-07). "Liam Neeson On Why Women Are The Better Sex". Marie Claire (UK). 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 McHugh, Fionnuala (1988-09). "Neeson Easy: Tall, Dark and Phantom". Elle (UK). 
  13. ↑ de Vries, Hilary (1993-07-03). "Liam Neeson". Newsday. 
  14. ↑ "All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
  15. ↑ USATODAY - Movie-star night in Palm Springs
  16. ↑ Star Wars: Message Boards: Rick McCallum 6/3/05 - 4:00 p.m. PT
  17. ↑ Lee, Alana. "BBC-Films-Interviews". BBC.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/11/13/liam_neeson_love_actually_interview.shtml. Retrieved 2007-04-18. 
  18. ↑ SNL Transcripts: Liam Neeson: 11/13/04: You Call This A House, Do Ya?
  19. ↑ "Springfield Fever". Entertainment Weekly. 2004-10-05. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,735559,00.html. Retrieved 2007-04-18. 
  20. ↑ "Liam Neeson Will Voice Aslan". NarniaWeb. 2005-07-15. http://www.narniaweb.com/news.asp?id=326&dl=3483310. Retrieved 2007-01-13. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Fleming, Michael (2005-01-11). "Lincoln logs in at DreamWorks: Spielberg, Neeson eye Abe pic". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117916168.html?categoryid=1238&cs=1. Retrieved 2007-01-24. 
  22. ↑ Evry, Max (2007-01-24). "Liam Neeson Talks Lincoln". ComingSoon.net. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=18545. Retrieved 2007-05-02. 
  23. ↑ Martin, Paul (2006-12-04). "Exclusive Prince Caspian Updates with Douglas Gresham". NarniaFans. http://www.narniafans.com/?id=1013. Retrieved 2006-12-05. 
  24. ↑ Gaudiosi, John (2007-05-08). "'Fallout 3' recruits Neeson". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i05fda239f1c08fddb1c1bce640859c1b. Retrieved 2007-05-08. 
  25. ↑ Gibbon, David (2007-05-09). "Liam Neeson to lead 'Fallout 3'". DigitalSpy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/a46344/liam-neeson-to-lead-fallout-3.html. Retrieved 2007-05-09. 
  26. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_3#Reception
  27. ↑ Holmwood, Leigh (2008-05-08). "Nesbitt and Neeson set for Ulster drama". guardian.co.uk (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/08/bbc.television. Retrieved 2008-05-08. 
  28. ↑ McNary, Dave (2008-10-16). "Ricci, Neeson believe in After.Life". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117994187.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. 
  29. ↑ Child, Ben (2008-11-27). "English-language cast announced for Miyazaki's Ponyo on the Cliff". London: guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/nov/27/hayaomiyazaki. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
  30. ↑ "Clash of the Titans (2010) (2010)". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=clashofthetitans10.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
  31. ↑ Chloe at boxofficemojo.com
  32. ↑ By (2010-04-24). "Specialty pics face reduced expectations - Entertainment News, Indie News, Media". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118018219.html?categoryid=3768&cs=1. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
  33. ↑ Chris Hewitt (June 9, 2009). "Neeson And Cooper Are The A-Team". Empire Magazine. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=25013. Retrieved 2009-06-09. 
  34. ↑ "Cooper in A-Team film?". http://www.teletext.co.uk/bigscreen/news/874ad1990654eebb77fdb6d8d4e2281a/Cooper+in+A-Team+film.aspx. Retrieved 11 June 2009. 
  35. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Liam Neeson Cast As LBJ In 'Selma,' Cedric The Entertainer To Play Ralph Abernathy". moviesblog.mtv.com. http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/03/24/exclusive-liam-neeson-cedric-the-entertainer-join-the-cast-of-lee-daniels-selma/. Retrieved May 11, 2010. 
  36. ↑ "Liam Neeson to Appear on The Big C". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Liam-Neeson-Big-C-1020990.aspx. 
  37. ↑ Blaney, Retta. "'Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson house profile - house pictures, rare facts and info about Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson home in Millbrook, New York'". BeliefNet. http://www.celebritydetective.com/Celebrity_Homes_Natasha-Richardson-Liam-Neeson-New-York.html. 
  38. ↑ "The A Team". PTC Challenge. 2010-06-01. http://ptcchallenge.com/2010/06/the-a-team/. Retrieved 2010-06-21. 
  39. ↑ Blaney, Retta. "'Acting Is a Form of Prayer'". BeliefNet. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/133/story_13350_1.html. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
  40. ↑ ""Actor Neeson becomes US citizen" - BBC News 26/08/2009". 2009-08-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8223680.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-05. 
  41. ↑ "The 7th Annual IFTA Nominees" (.pdf). Irish Film & Television Awards. Retrieved on 13 January 2009.

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