A former teenage boxing champ, this stalwart actor from the land of emeralds and leprechauns retains much of the rugged good looks one would expect. Liam Neeson looks like a tough, no nonsense kind of guy, but he is quite capable or a range of emotion, made all the more enjoyable for being so unexpected. There is something noble in his manner which is impossible to ignore. Looking at his film credits, it is clear that many people in Hollywood have noticed.
Neeson was born in the small, pre-dominantly Protestant town of Ballymena to a Catholic family on June 7, 1952. In Ireland, religion is always an issue, but Neeson has said that in his small town everyone got along very well, and he was not fully introduced to the complexities of Irish politics until later in life. He began taking boxing lessons at age 9, and continued boxing until he reached his late teens and it was time for college and a higher education.
Liam first tried his hand at Physics and Computer Science, but flopped out of school. Determined and wanting to please his parents, he went back. This time he went a different route. Enrolling in a teaching program, he delved into his studies. However, it was the Drama courses which he took alongside his major which really interested him. In the end, acting proved too much of a distraction, and Neeson never did finish college.
He soon found work in theater projects, working for both the acclaimed Lyric Players Theater and the renown Abbey Theater. An early role for Neeson was that of Jesus in an educational video made for a Christian school.
The maturing actor was soon noticed by director John Boorman, who recognized the actor’s distinct manner, and cast him as Sir Gawain in his Arthurian ode, Excalibur. Neeson also appeared in another Arthurian feature (made-for-television), Merlin and the Sword. Unfortunately for him, it was not quite the success that the previous film had been.
Moving into the 1980s, Neeson was firmly entrenched in the supporting actor category. He appeared in many different films but never managed to become an on-screen leading man. Ironically, off the screen he was one of Hollywood’s most desirable men. He had romantic dalliances with the likes of Barbra Streisand and Julia Roberts.
Liam got off to a good start in the 1990s with his breakout leading role. In Darkman, Neeson starred as a dark super-hero in Sam Raimi’s take on the comic book genre. The film was odd, but captivated audiences and impressed critics who didn’t usually go for such things.
Despite the success, Neeson was not able to immediately capitalize off of his new fame. Returning to theater, he appeared in the Broadway play, Anna Christie. The play co-starred Natasha Richardson, whom Neeson would later marry and start a family with. The show was a success, and attracted many celebrity guests. Among them was Steven Spielberg, who was so amazed by Neeson’s performance that he decided to offer the actor a role in his upcoming film, Schindler’s List.
As Oskar Schindler, the industrialist who saved countless Jewish lives during the Holocaust, Neeson was breathtaking. Although he would lose the Oscar to Tom Hanks for Philadelphia, Neeson’s performance would stay with audiences.
Neeson would once again work on a more romantic film with Rob Roy. Unfortunate timing put it up against Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, and Neeson lost the battle of the kilts. His next film, Michael Collins, failed to bring in much box office state-side. In Europe, however, the film (which depicted I.R.A. founder Michael Collins as a romantic figure forced to resort to violence) was controversial and enormously successful. A string of moderate successes and near misses followed, none of which offered audiences what they had come to expect from Neeson.
In his next performance, it seemed that Neeson was more in his element. In a return to his young noble days, Neeson again portrayed a knight - although this one fought with a lightsaber. As Jedi Knight Qui-Gon in the Star Wars prequel, The Phantom Menace Neeson was once again the romantic hero - only this time he was propelled into the sci-fi world of George Lucas.
The film itself opened to mixed reviews after a blitz of publicity and hype, the likes of which have never been seen before. Many critics and viewers felt that Neeson managed to rise above it all with dignity and poise. Very few of the negative reviews attacked Neeson, he was seen as the shining light of the film - testimony to his skill and class.
