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Liam Neeson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Neeson in 2008 | |
| Born | William John Neeson 7 June 1952 Ballymena, Northern Ireland |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Helen Mirren (1980–1985)[1][2] |
| Children | 2, including Micheál Richardson |
| Awards | Full list |
William John Neeson OBE (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland.[3] He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed seventh on The Irish Times list of Ireland's 50 Greatest Film Actors.[4] Neeson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2000.[5]
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).
He 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 2009, 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).
- ^ "Helen Mirren Says She and Ex Liam Neeson 'Loved Each Other' But 'Were Not Meant to Be Together'". 22 November 2022. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ "Liam Neeson Recalls First Falling for Former Flame Helen Mirren: 'I Was Smitten'". 19 January 2018. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ "Liam Neeson promotes Northern Ireland tourism". BBC News. 10 March 2014. Archived from the original on 30 May 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ^ Clarke, Donald; Brady, Tara (13 June 2020). "The 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time – in order". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ Wilson, Jamie (31 December 1999). "Top billing at last for veteran entertainers; Showbusiness Awards for Elizabeth Taylor and Shirley Bassey". The Guardian. London. p. 4.