Liam Neeson
Birthday: 7 June 1952, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK
Birth Name: William John Neeson
Height: 193 cm
Liam Neeson was born on June 7, 1952 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, UK, to Katherine (Brown), a cook, and Bernard Neeson, a school caretaker. Liam worked as a forklift operator for Guinness, truck dr ...Show More
[on director Martin Scorsese] He's intimidating. He requires absolute silence on the set - if he hea Show more
[on director Martin Scorsese] He's intimidating. He requires absolute silence on the set - if he hears one tiny sound, it shatters it for him. Hide
Laid-back? My wife said that? Well, I guess I am. It takes a lot to get me riled.
Laid-back? My wife said that? Well, I guess I am. It takes a lot to get me riled.
[on the widespread unemployment of actors and their fear of it] The truth is I love the insecurity p Show more
[on the widespread unemployment of actors and their fear of it] The truth is I love the insecurity part of it, it keeps me on my toes. I think you become bland and predictable without the stress and angst. There's a certain lethargy that sets in. Hide
[on performing with Ralph Fiennes] On Clash of the Titans (2010) we found it hard to act with each o Show more
[on performing with Ralph Fiennes] On Clash of the Titans (2010) we found it hard to act with each other. So I would look at his forehead and he would look at my forehead, because sometimes, if we made eye contact, it got quite silly. We were more restrained on Wrath of the Titans (2012) because we had deeper, darker issues to act. Hide
[on Darkman (1990)] [The film] has rabid fans, especially in the black community, I've found. It's a Show more
[on Darkman (1990)] [The film] has rabid fans, especially in the black community, I've found. It's always the black dudes who are stopping me and giving me a high five. I saw Spider-Man (2002), and a lot of it was shot-for-shot Darkman. Hide
I think I realized there were two communities in Northern Ireland when I was about nine or 10, not b Show more
I think I realized there were two communities in Northern Ireland when I was about nine or 10, not because there was any trouble but because in certain years my parents would keep us indoors on the 12th of July. I couldn't figure that out, because all my mates were out dancing in the streets and I wanted to go out and join them. So it was then that I sensed a "them and us" attitude. Hide
Before Schindler's List (1993), I wouldn't have believed movies had a lot of power for social change Show more
Before Schindler's List (1993), I wouldn't have believed movies had a lot of power for social change. But having seen what happened with "Schindler's List", and touring the world with it, it really made me realize the power of images. Hide
(on the state of his family after the death of Natasha Richardson) We're doing good. To be honest, w Show more
(on the state of his family after the death of Natasha Richardson) We're doing good. To be honest, we're taking each day as it comes. Hide
[on The A-Team (2010)] I watched it about two months ago and I found it a little confusing and I was Show more
[on The A-Team (2010)] I watched it about two months ago and I found it a little confusing and I was in the thing. I just couldn't figure out who was who and what's been done to him and why, a little bit. I mean, my kids totally understood it and got it. I don't know. It's a toss of the coin, sometimes, with these things. I thought it was a great ride and Joe [Joe Carnahan] had done a great job. I thought it was cast well. But there you go - you never know. Hide
I grew up in Northern Ireland, of course. Lived all through the Troubles; saw violence, the results Show more
I grew up in Northern Ireland, of course. Lived all through the Troubles; saw violence, the results of violence, at first hand. It's always terrified me and fascinated me. So it was a gut reaction, something about how that rage can eat you alive. I can understand that. I haven't known it myself, but I knew guys who did. Some of them aren't on this planet any more because of it. Hide
Action heroes used to be for much younger men, but now I get all these scripts where it's, 'Scratch Show more
Action heroes used to be for much younger men, but now I get all these scripts where it's, 'Scratch 35, and now it's 60'!' Hide
[on working with Julia Roberts in Michael Collins (1996)] I was surprised at first [when she was cas Show more
[on working with Julia Roberts in Michael Collins (1996)] I was surprised at first [when she was cast]. I thought, surely there's an actress in Ireland who can [play the role]; Neil [Jordan] doesn't need this star power. I thought maybe he was going to shoot himself in the foot. But she was very committed to doing it. I thought she was terribly good and I was very proud of her. Hide
[on Gangs of New York (2002)] Martin [Scorsese] was interested in me for the part of Monk, that Bren Show more
[on Gangs of New York (2002)] Martin [Scorsese] was interested in me for the part of Monk, that Brendan Gleeson played. But when I read it, I said, "No, I want to play this Priest Vallon character. It's a showier part." It was the perfect cameo, I think. You come in, do a bit of physical stuff, and then they talk about you for the rest of the movie. Meanwhile, I'm back home with my wife and kids, and they're still talking about me. It's great! Hide
[on Ralph Fiennes] He's one of my closest friends. He's very into yoga and I do bits of that with hi Show more
[on Ralph Fiennes] He's one of my closest friends. He's very into yoga and I do bits of that with him. We hike and walk and talk a lot. Hide
[on Nell (1994)] I was a bit disappointed in the film. I felt it should have been rougher and cruder Show more
[on Nell (1994)] I was a bit disappointed in the film. I felt it should have been rougher and cruder and darker and colder. There was too much of a glow surrounding the movie. I thought Jodie [Foster] was very good, but, I mean, that house she lived in, that was, like, something out of Swiss Family Robinson! There should have been plastic chairs and windows with bits of newspaper stuck in them to stop the draft. Hide
Schindler's List (1993) is a very special movie on lots of fronts. It was a brilliant script and it Show more
Schindler's List (1993) is a very special movie on lots of fronts. It was a brilliant script and it was great to work with Steven Spielberg: I formed a close relationship with him. Hide
I am attracted to characters who are loners, who operate by themselves. There's something mysterious Show more
I am attracted to characters who are loners, who operate by themselves. There's something mysterious, manly and stoic about them. Hide
Even with action films, the fundamental for me is the writing. I adore writers, no matter what the g Show more
Even with action films, the fundamental for me is the writing. I adore writers, no matter what the genre is, and if it is a well-written piece of material then I am always very interested. Hide
I never did think of myself as handsome--terribly attractive, yes, but not handsome.
I never did think of myself as handsome--terribly attractive, yes, but not handsome.
No, I don't get obsessed with acting. Because in the past when I have got obsessed about it, it real Show more
No, I don't get obsessed with acting. Because in the past when I have got obsessed about it, it really got in the way of the creative process. I've learned to hang the character on the coat-peg at the end of the day, and when I leave in the morning I pick it up again. And I had to work at that because the other way lies a strange sort of madness. Hide
Some mornings you wake up and think, "Gee, I look handsome today." Other days I think, "What am I do Show more
Some mornings you wake up and think, "Gee, I look handsome today." Other days I think, "What am I doing in the movies? I wanna go back to Ireland and drive a forklift". Hide
[on Schindler's List (1993)] I did a lot of research, but I found it was best not to do too much bec Show more
[on Schindler's List (1993)] I did a lot of research, but I found it was best not to do too much because I was playing a guy who lived in 1942, '43. If I'd read all the Holocaust literature, it would have played into my performance. Ignorance was bliss, certainly for Schindler. Hide
In Los Angeles, it's like they jog for two hours a day and then they think they're morally right. Th Show more
In Los Angeles, it's like they jog for two hours a day and then they think they're morally right. That's when you want to choke people, you know? Hide
Just look at the success of Taken (2008), for example. I thought it was going to be a straight-to-vi Show more
Just look at the success of Taken (2008), for example. I thought it was going to be a straight-to-video release. That is actually one of the reasons I did it, to be honest. I felt like spending three months in Paris, I'd get to do all this physical stuff that no one would think of me for, and that the film would go straight to video. Then it became this big success. I was a tiny bit embarrassed by it, a tiny bit, but then people started sending me action scripts. Hide
[on losing the role of Lincoln (2012)] I don't feel sad about it, and I have no regrets whatsoever. Show more
[on losing the role of Lincoln (2012)] I don't feel sad about it, and I have no regrets whatsoever. There comes a point where you think "I'm past my sell-by date" and I passed that about three years ago. It's just like a light switch went off in my head: it just wasn't for me anymore. I'd lived with it too long and there was a process happening: Steven [Steven Spielberg] would do something else or I would do something else and it was like "Okay, let's cut this loose." They got one of the best actors to do it, you know, in Daniel Day-Lewis. Hide
Liam Neeson's FILMOGRAPHY - Page 3
as Actor (312)
Liam Neeson'S roles
Jimmy Conlon
Dr. Martin Harris
Father Sean
Michael Collins
Col. John 'Hannibal' Smith
Liam Neeson
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