Biography

Standing a burly 6'4", Liam Neeson was once described by a theatre critic as a "towering sequoia of sex." To say that he has undeniable charisma is certainly accurate, but it is a charisma composed as much of impressive talent as of broken-nosed physical appeal. Bearing both versatility and quiet forcefulness, Neeson has been touted as one of the most compelling actors of the late 20th century.

Born June 7, 1952, in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, Neeson had an upbringing partially defined by his involvement in boxing. He became active in the sport as a teenager, earning his distinctive broken nose in the process; he stayed with boxing until he began experiencing black-outs from repeated blows to the head. Initially interested in a career as a teacher, Neeson attended Belfast's Queens College, but he aborted his studies after developing a desire to act. In 1976, he joined Belfast's Lyric Theatre, and two years later he began performing the classics at Dublin's famed Abbey Theatre. While he was with the Abbey, Neeson was discovered by director John Boorman, who cast him as Gawain in 1981's Excalibur. Following his part in that action fantasy, Neeson had supporting roles in such films as The Mission (1986), and he was featured in leads opposite Cher in Suspect (1987) and Diane Keaton in The Good Mother (1988).

He got his first starring vehicle in 1990 with Sam Raimi's Darkman; unfortunately, the film was a relative disappointment. Neeson continued to do starring work in such films as Big Man (1991), which featured him as a boxer, Ethan Frome (1992), and Under Suspicion (1992), but ironically, it was his work on the stage that led to his true screen breakthrough. In 1992, the actor was turning in a Tony-nominated performance in Anna Christie opposite Natasha Richardson (whom he would marry in 1994) on Broadway. His work attracted the notice of Steven Spielberg, who was so impressed with what he saw that he cast Neeson as Oskar Schindler in his landmark Holocaust drama Schindler's List (1993). Neeson received Best Actor Oscar and British Academy Award nominations for his performance, and he subsequently didn't have to worry about finding work in Hollywood, or elsewhere, again.

More high-profile work followed for Neeson, who went on to star in such films as Nell (1994), Rob Roy (1995), and Michael Collins (1996). However acclaimed his previous work had been, none of it received the hype of one of Neeson's 1999 projects, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Although the film, which starred Neeson as a Jedi master, ultimately earned a galaxy's worth of negative reviews, it mined box office millions. Its success further enhanced Neeson's status as one of the world's most visible actors, and it even helped to downplay the disappointment of The Haunting, his other film that year. ~ Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide

Filmography

Love Actually (2003)
Gangs of New York (2002) .... Priest Vallon
"Liberty's Kids" (2002) TV Series .... John Paul Jones
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) .... Mikhail Polenin
... aka K*19: The Widowmaker (2002) (USA: poster title)
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) (uncredited) (voice) (archive footage) .... Qui-Gon Jinn
... aka Attack of the Clones: The IMAX Experience (2002) (USA: IMAX version)
... aka Star Wars II (2002) (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones (2002) (USA: video box title)
Ultimate Fights from the Movies (2002) (V) (archive footage) .... Dawson (Crossing the Line)
Who is Alan Smithee? (2002) (TV) (uncredited) (archive footage) .... Himself
Nobel Peace Prize Concert (2001) (TV) .... Host
Revenge of the Whale (2001) (TV) .... Narrator
Journey Into Amazing Caves (2001) (voice) .... Narrator
"Greeks, The" (2001) (mini) TV Series (voice) .... Narrator
Inside the Space Station (2000) (TV) (voice) .... Narrator
Man Who Came to Dinner, The (2000) (TV) .... Host
Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition, The (2000) (voice) .... Narrator
... aka Endurance, The (2000) (USA)
Greeks: Crucible of Civilization, The (2000) (TV) .... Narrator
Gun Shy (2000) .... Charlie
... aka Gunshy (2000) (Australia: video title)
Making of 'The Haunting', The (1999) (V) .... Himself
Omagh the Legacy: Claire and Stephen's Story (1999) .... Narrator
Stars of Star Wars: Interviews with the Cast, The (1999) (V) .... Himself
Unauthorized Star Wars Story, The (1999) (V) .... Himself
Haunting, The (1999) .... Dr. David Marrow
... aka Maldición, La (1999) (USA: Spanish title)
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) .... Qui-Gon Jinn
... aka Phantom Menace, The (1999) (USA: short title)
... aka Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace (1999) (USA: video box title)
Misérables, Les (1998) .... Jean Valjean
... aka Misérables, Les (1998) (Germany)
Everest (1998) (voice) .... Narrator
Clark Gable: Tall, Dark and Handsome (1996) .... Host
"Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century, The" (1996) (mini) TV Series (voice) .... John Lucy
Michael Collins (1996) .... Michael Collins
Before and After (1996) .... Ben Ryan
Leap of Faith, A (1996) (voice) .... Himself/Narrator
American Film Institute Salute to Steven Spielberg, The (1995) (TV) .... Himself
Lumière et compagnie (1995) .... (segment "John Boorman")
... aka Lumière and Company (1995)
... aka Lumiere y compañía (1996) (Spain)
Out of Ireland (1995) (TV) (voice)
Rob Roy (1995) .... MacGregor
Nell (1994) .... Dr. Jerome 'Jerry' Lovell
Schindler's List (1993) .... Oskar Schindler
Ruby Cairo (1993) .... Fergus Lamb
... aka Deception (1993) (USA: video title (recut version))
... aka Missing Link: Ruby Cairo, The (1993)
Ethan Frome (1993) .... Ethan Frome
Leap of Faith (1992) .... Will
Husbands and Wives (1992) .... Michael
Under Suspicion (1992) .... Tony Aaron
Shining Through (1992) .... Franz-Otto Dietrich
Big Man, The (1990) .... Danny Scoular
... aka Crossing the Line (1991) (USA)
Darkman (1990) .... Peyton Westlake/Darkman
Next of Kin (1989) .... Briar Gates
High Spirits (1988) .... Martin Brogan
Good Mother, The (1988) .... Leo Cutter
... aka Price of Passion, The (1988) (South Africa: video title English title)
Dead Pool, The (1988) .... Peter Swan, Director of Hotel Satan
Satisfaction (1988) .... Martin Falcon
... aka Girls of Summer (1988)
Sweet as You Are (1987) (TV) .... Martin Perry
Suspect (1987) .... Carl Wayne Anderson
Prayer for the Dying, A (1987) .... Liam Docherty
Sworn to Silence (1987) (TV) .... Vincent Cauley
Duet for One (1987) .... Totter
Lamb (1986) .... Michael Lamb
Hold the Dream (1986) (TV) .... Blackie O'Neill
Mission, The (1986) .... Fielding
"If Tomorrow Comes" (1986) (mini) TV Series .... Inspector André Trignant
Arthur the King (1985) (TV) .... Grak
... aka Merlin & the Sword (1985) (TV) (USA: video title)
Innocent, The (1985) .... John Carns
"Ellis Island" (1984) (mini) TV Series .... Kevin Murray
Bounty, The (1984) .... Seaman Charles Churchill
Audience with Mel Brooks, An (1983) (TV) .... Himself
"Woman of Substance, A" (1983) (mini) TV Series .... Blackie O'Neill
Krull (1983) .... Kegan
... aka Dragons of Krull (1983)
... aka Dungeons and Dragons (1983/II)
... aka Dungeons of Krull, The (1983)
... aka Krull: Invaders of the Black Fortress (1983)
Nailed (1981) .... Young Catholic
Excalibur (1981) .... Gawain