Liam Neeson OBE (born William John Neeson, 7.6.1952) is an Irish actor, perhaps best known for his roles in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Schindler's List.
Childhood: Liam Neeson was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland. His mother, Kitty, was a cook and his father, Bernard, was a caretaker at the local boy's primary school. He was one of four children and has three sisters, Elizabeth, Bernadette and Rosaline.
Liam Neeson first acted onstage when he was 11, when his teacher gave him the lead role in a school play. As a child, Neeson used to sneak into Ian Paisley's church. Paisley has commented on Neeson's "presence" whilst reading Bible passages in church.
Acting Career: After graduating from university, Liam Neeson's first film appearance came in 1973, when he played Jesus Christ in Ken Anderson's Pilgrim's Progress. He later applied for an audition at the Lyric Players' Theatre in Belfast. After two years there, he moved to Dublin and joined Dublin's Abbey Theatre.
John Boorman watched Neeson in a stage production of Of Mice and Men and offered him a role in Excalibur. He met the actress Helen Mirren on the set of the film and lived with her around this time. The highest profile film that Liam Neeson appeared in, in this era, was The Bounty, which also starred Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins.
Neeson moved to Hollywood in 1987 in order to raise his profile as an actor. The move seemed to work and he landed a role in Suspect, along with Dennis Quaid and Cher. He was praised for his role in the film and in 1990, his appearance in Sam Raimi's Darkman brought his name to public attention.
Steven Spielberg saw Liam Neeson performing onstage in a production of Anna Christie and offered him a lead role in Schindler's List, the award winning film, which also starred Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes. Neeson himself was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar but lost out to Tom Hanks' performance in Philadelphia.
In 1995, Neeson starred in Rob Roy and another period piece, Michael Collins the year after. His performance in Michael Collins earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Two years later, Liam Neeson was cast as Jean Valjean in an adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. In 1999, he played Dr. David Marrow in The Haunting.
In 1999, Liam Neeson was cast as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn for the first film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor were also cast in the film as Obi Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala, respectively.
Returning to the stage, Liam Neeson earned himself a Tony Award for his role in Arthur Miller's The Crucible, which also starred Laura Linney.
In 2002, Liam Neeson joined Harrison Ford in the submarine-based thriller K19: The Widowmaker, followed by an appearance in Martin Scorsese's lauded Gangs of New York, which starred Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz. The following year, Neeson took a role in Richard Curtis' romantic comedy, Love Actually. The film, which was a huge financial success, had a strong cast, including Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Rowan Atkinson, Emma Thompson and Keira Knightley.
Liam Neeson was awarded with yet more awards nominations for his role in Kinsey, in which he plays the lead role, Alfred Kinsey. He lost out on the award to Leonardo DiCaprio, for his role in The Aviator.
The renowned director Ridley Scott cast Neeson in Kingdom of Heaven, opposite Edward Norton, Orlando Bloom and Jeremy Irons. Neeson then went on to work with Cillian Murphy in the film adaptation of Patrick McCabe's novel Breakfast on Pluto. He also voiced the lion, Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as well as its sequel, Prince Caspian.
Personal Life: Liam Neeson married Natasha Richardson in 1994. The couple had previously worked together on the film Nell. Natasha is the daughter of Tony Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave and her sister is the actress Joely Richardson.
Biography by Contactmusic.com
