Liam Neeson

William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, two Tony Awards and one Volpi Cup. With a film career spanning more than 40 years, Neeson is regarded as one of Ireland's greatest film actors. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over US$11.7 billion worldwide. Neeson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2000.

Neeson made his film debut in 1978 with Pilgrim's Progress followed by early roles in Excalibur (1981), The Bounty (1984), The Mission (1986), The Dead Pool (1988), and Husbands and Wives (1992). He rose to prominence portraying Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg's Holocaust drama Schindler's List (1993) for which he earned an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination.

He played leading man roles in drama films such as Nell (1994), Rob Roy (1995), Michael Collins (1996), and Les Misérables (1998). He took blockbuster roles portraying Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins (2005), and Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia trilogy (2005–2010).

Neeson acted in films such as the historical drama Gangs of New York (2002), the romantic comedy Love Actually (2003), the biographical drama Kinsey (2004), the erotic thriller Chloe (2009), the religious drama Silence (2016), the fantasy film A Monster Calls (2016), the crime thriller Widows (2018), the anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), and the romantic drama Ordinary Love (2019).

Beginning in 2008, Neeson cemented himself as an action star with the action thriller series Taken (2008–2014), The A-Team (2010), The Grey (2011), Wrath of the Titans (2012), A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014), and Cold Pursuit (2019). He is known for his collaborations in the genre with the director Jaume Collet-Serra and starred in four of his films: Unknown (2011), Non-Stop (2014), Run All Night (2015), and The Commuter (2018).

On stage, Neeson joined the Lyric Players' Theatre in Belfast in 1976 for two years. On Broadway, he earned two Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nominations for his performances as Matt Burke in the revival of Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie (1992) and John Proctor in the Arthur Miller revival of The Crucible (2002). He portrayed Oscar Wilde in David Hare's The Judas Kiss (1998).

Early life

William John Neeson was born on 7 June 1952 in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, the son of primary school caretaker Bernard "Barney" Neeson and cook Katherine "Kitty" Neeson (née Brown). His mother was born and raised in Waterford in the south-east of Ireland. Brought up Catholic, he was named Liam after a local priest.

He has three sisters, Elizabeth, Bernadette, and Rosaleen. He attended St Patrick's College, Ballymena, from 1963 to 1967, and later recalled that his love of drama began there.

He said that growing up as a Catholic in a predominantly Protestant town made him cautious, and once said he felt like a "second-class citizen" there, but has also said he was never made to feel "inferior or even different" at the town's predominantly Protestant technical college. "It would be colourful to imagine I had a rebellious, uproarious Irish background," he has said, "but the facts were much greyer.

Irish, yes. But all that nationalistic stuff, crying into your Guinness and singing rebel songs – that was never my scene." He has described himself as "out of touch" with the politics and history of Northern Ireland until becoming aware of protests by fellow students after Bloody Sunday, a massacre in Derry in 1972 during the Troubles, which encouraged him to learn more local history.

In a 2009 interview, he said, "I never stop thinking about [the Troubles]. I've known guys and girls who have been perpetrators of violence and victims. Protestants and Catholics. It's part of my DNA."

At age nine, Neeson began boxing lessons at the All Saints Youth Club, and went on to win a number of regional titles before quitting at 17. He acted in school productions during his teens. His interest in acting and decision to become an actor were also influenced by Ian Paisley, founder of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), into whose Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster he sneaked.

He said, "[Paisley] had a magnificent presence and it was incredible to watch him just Bible-thumping away... it was acting, but it was also great acting and stirring too." In 1971, he joined a physics and computer science course at Queen's University Belfast before leaving to work for the Guinness Brewery. At Queen's, he discovered a talent for football and was spotted by Seán Thomas at Bohemian FC.

There was a club trial in Dublin and Neeson played one game as a substitute against Shamrock Rovers FC, but was not offered a contract.

Career

1976–1993: Rise to prominence

After leaving university, Neeson returned to Ballymena, where he worked in a variety of casual jobs, such as a forklift operator at Guinness and a lorry driver. He also attended teacher training college for two years in Newcastle upon Tyne before again returning to his hometown. In 1976, he joined the Lyric Players Theatre in Belfast, where he performed for two years.

He got his first film experience in 1977, playing Jesus Christ and The Evangelist in the religious film Pilgrim's Progress (1978). He moved to Dublin in 1978, when he was offered a part in Ron Hutchinson's Says I, Says He, a drama about The Troubles, at the Project Arts Centre. He acted in several other Project productions and joined the Abbey Theatre (the National Theatre of Ireland).

In 1980, he performed with Stephen Rea, Ray McAnally and Mick Lally, playing Doalty in Brian Friel's play Translations, the first production of Friel's and Rea's Field Day Theatre Company, first presented in the Guildhall in Derry on 23 September 1980.

In 1980, filmmaker John Boorman saw him on stage as Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men and offered him the role of Sir Gawain in the Arthurian film Excalibur. After the role, Neeson moved to London, where he continued working on stage and in small-budget films and television. He lived with actress Helen Mirren, whom he met working on Excalibur.

Between 1982 and 1987, he starred in five films, most notably with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in 1984's The Bounty, and Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons in 1986's The Mission. Neeson guest-starred in the third season of the television series Miami Vice in 1986, and moved to Hollywood the next year to take higher-profile roles.

He starred with Cher and Dennis Quaid in Suspect, which brought him critical acclaim. In 1988, he appeared with Clint Eastwood in the fifth Dirty Harry film, The Dead Pool, as Peter Swan, a horror film director. In 1990, he had a starring role in Sam Raimi's Darkman. Although the film was successful, Neeson's subsequent years did not bring him the same recognition. He also starred in the eponymous role for the film Ethan Frome (1993).

1993–2000: Breakthrough and acclaim

Steven Spielberg offered Neeson the role of Oskar Schindler in his holocaust film Schindler's List, after seeing him in Anna Christie on Broadway. Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson and Warren Beatty had all expressed interest in the part. Beatty even auditioned, but Neeson was cast in December 1992. He had read Keneally's book and concluded that his character "enjoyed fookin' [sic] with the Nazis.

In Keneally's book, it says he was regarded as a kind of a buffoon by them... if the Nazis were New Yorkers, he was from Arkansas. They don't quite take him seriously, and he used that to full effect." His critically acclaimed performance earned him a nomination for a Best Actor Oscar and helped the film earn Best Picture of 1993. He also received BAFTA and Golden Globes nominations for the performance.

In 1993, Neeson made his Broadway debut playing Mat Burke in the revival of the Eugene O'Neill play Anna Christie, starring opposite his Ellis Island co-star and future wife Natasha Richardson. For his performance, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. The following year, they also worked together in Nell (1994), starring Jodie Foster.

He then took leading roles in several period piece drama films, including playing the lead role of Rob Roy MacGregor in the historical drama Rob Roy (1995) opposite Jessica Lange, Brian Cox, and Tim Roth. Critic Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times praised his ability to be a leading man writing, "Neeson, tall and grand, makes an effortless hero as Rob Roy".

The following year, he acted in Neil Jordan's historical drama Michael Collins (1996), alongside Julia Roberts and Alan Rickman. Neeson portrayed the title role as the Irish revolutionary leading the fight for Irish independence. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it received the Golden Lion with Neeson earning the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.

He later earned nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. Todd McCarthy of Variety praised his performance writing, "Neeson is a compulsive dynamo as Collins, with the actor seizing his part with a passion and boldness utterly in keeping with the character’s approach to life and his cause".

Neeson portrayed Jean Valjean in the 1998 adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, directed by Bille August. He starred alongside Uma Thurman, Geoffrey Rush, and Claire Danes. Writing of Neeson's performance, Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, "[He] plays the role with the sure physical authority and profound decency that are fundamental to Valjean's character" adding, "With a first-rate cast and a venerable storytelling style, it fluently condenses Victor Hugo's epic novel and retrieves some of its suspenseful momentum." That same year, he returned to the stage in the David Hare play The Judas Kiss (1998), portraying Oscar Wilde which ran at both the Almeida Theatre in the West End and the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway.

He acted alongside Tom Hollander and Peter Capaldi. In 1999, he acted in the supernatural horror film The Haunting (1999) opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones.

1999–2007: Blockbuster roles

In 1999, Neeson starred as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Director George Lucas cast Neeson because he considered him a "master actor, who the other actors will look up to, who has got the qualities of strength that the character demands." As the first Star Wars film to be released in 16 years, it was surrounded by media anticipation. Despite mixed reviews from critics and fans, the film was a box office success.

Neeson's performance as Qui-Gon received positive reviews and a Saturn Award nomination. A stock recording of his voice from The Phantom Menace can be heard during a scene in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002). Neeson was later reported to be appearing in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), but ultimately did not.

In the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–20), he voiced Qui-Gon in two episodes of the third season and one episode of the sixth season, and he also made a voice cameo as Qui-Gon in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Neeson appeared as Qui-Gon in the final episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), appearing as a force ghost to Obi-Wan, in an uncredited cameo, marking his first live-action portrayal of Qui-Gon since The Phantom Menace. He later voiced Qui-Gon again for an episode of the animated Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi (2022).

Neeson narrated the 2001 documentaries Journey into Amazing Caves, a short film about two scientists who travel around the world to search for material for potential cures; and The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Adventure. The latter won awards at a number of film festivals, including Best Documentary from both the Chicago Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review.

Neeson returned to Broadway in the revival of the Arthur Miller play The Crucible acting opposite Laura Linney. For his performance as John Proctor, he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Charles Isherwood of Variety praised Neeson writing, "In his thoughtful performance as Proctor, the effortlessly charismatic Neeson subtly delineates a man’s moral evolution as Proctor moves from casual scorn for the proceedings to outrage to soul-stricken despair" adding, "Perhaps the finest aspect of Neeson’s performance is its admirable restraint".

That same year Neeson acted with Harrison Ford in Kathryn Bigelow's 2002 submarine thriller K-19: The Widowmaker as Captain Mikhail Polenin. He was also in the cast of Martin Scorsese's historical drama Gangs of New York with Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Cameron Diaz.

In 2003, he played a recently widowed writer in Richard Curtis's romantic comedy ensemble Love Actually (2003), acting alongside Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, and Laura Linney. The film was a commercial success and has since become a cult classic and holiday favorite. The following year, he portrayed Alfred Kinsey in the biographical drama Kinsey reuniting with Laura Linney, Peter Sarsgaard, and John Lithgow.

Neeson received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, losing to Leonardo DiCaprio for The Aviator (2004). That year, 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 as a hippie in a one-off sketch about two stoners (the other played by Amy Poehler) who attempt to borrow a police dog to find their lost stash of marijuana.

Despite vowing not to play any Irish stereotypes, Neeson did play an Irish man named Lorcan McArdle in the home makeover show parody "You Call This A House, Do Ya?"

In 2005, Neeson took multiple roles in mainstream blockbuster films. He portrayed Godfrey of Ibelin in Ridley Scott's epic adventure Kingdom of Heaven; Ra's al Ghul, one of the main villains in Christopher Nolan's action film Batman Begins; and Father Bernard in Neil Jordan's adaptation of Patrick McCabe's novel Breakfast on Pluto.

That same year, he replaced Brian Cox, playing Aslan the Lion in the fantasy adventure film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), an adaptation of the C. S. Lewis book of the same name. In The Simpsons episode, "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star" (2005), he voiced the kindly priest who (briefly) converts Bart and Homer to Catholicism.