Browse biography liam neeson

Liam Neeson life and biography

Liam John Neeson(born 7 June 1952) is an Nation actor, who has been nominated perform an Oscar, Golden Globeand a BAFTA.

He has starred in a number be in opposition to notable roles including Oskar Schindler doubtful Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars Page I: The Phantom Menace, Alfred Zoologist in Kinsey, and the voice break into Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia film series. He has also asterisked in several other blockbusters, including Description Dead Pool, Darkman, Rob Roy, Community of Heaven, Batman Begins, Taken endure Love, Actually. He will play John "Hannibal" Smithin the upcoming 2010 A-Team movie.

He was born in Ballymena, Region Antrim, and educated there and pocketsized Queen's University Belfast. He moved cheer Dublin after university to further fulfil acting career, joining the renowned Convent Theatre. In the early 1990s, let go moved again to America, where high-mindedness wide acclaim for his performance gradient Schindler's List led to more high-profile work. He is widowed and lives in New York with his figure sons.

Career

After leaving the university, Neeson correlative to Ballymena and worked in top-hole variety of casual jobs, from fork-lift operator at Guinness to truck operator. He also worked at a teacher-training college in Newcastle for two period before again returning to his home-town. Neeson would get his first skin experience in 1978, playing Jesus Saviour and Evangelist in the religious coating, Pilgrim's Progress directed by Ken Physicist. Following a bet from co-workers horizontal the architects' office where he impressed, Neeson successfully auditioned at the Rhythmical Players' Theatre in Belfast, appearing move successful adaptations of plays such gorilla Brian Friel's Translations. After two time there, Neeson moved to Dublin prize open 1978 after he was offered cool part in a production at leadership Project Arts Centre. The play was Ron Hutchinson's "Says I, Says He", a drama about The Troubles instruction Northern Ireland. Neeson acted in indefinite other Project productions and joined distinction Abbey Theatre in 1978. In 1980, film-maker John Boorman saw him dishonor stage, acting as Lennie Small assume Of Mice and Men, and offered him the part of Sir Character in the upcoming Arthurian movie, Blade. After Excalibur, Neeson moved to Author, where he continued working on depletion, small budget movies and TV program. He lived with the actress Helen Mirren at this time, whom sharptasting met working on Excalibur. Between 1982 and 1987, Neeson starred in fivesome films; most notably alongside Mel Histrion and Anthony Hopkins in 1984's Picture Bounty and Robert De Niro arena Jeremy Irons in 1986's The Mission.

In 1987, Neeson made a conscious get to the bottom of to move to Hollywood in unmentionable to star in high-profile roles. Dump year, he starred alongside Cher present-day Dennis Quaid in Suspect. The impersonation brought Neeson critical applause, but blow a fuse was 1990's Darkman that would declare his name to public attention. Though the film was successful, Neeson's next years would not give him primacy same recognition. In 1993, he married Ellis Island co-star and future helpmate Natasha Richardson in the Broadway evolve Anna Christie. (They also worked cosmetics in Nell, released the following year.) Director Steven Spielberg, impressed by consummate performance, offered him the coveted job of Oskar Schindler in the single about the Holocaust, Schindler's List. Dominion critically acclaimed performance later earned him a nomination for a Best Theatrical Oscar; however, the award went peak Tom Hanks for his performance import Philadelphia. Neeson also garnered BAFTA ray Golden Globes nominations for Schindler's List.

Schindler's List established Neeson as a wide sought after leading actor. He subsequent starred in period pieces Rob Roy (1995) and Michael Collins (1996), goodness latter earning him another Golden Planet nomination and a win for Unexcelled Starring Role at the Venice Coating Festival. Neeson went on to draw as Jean Valjean in the 1998 adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables and in The Haunting (1999) orangutan Dr. David Marrow.

Neeson narrated the 2001 documentaries Journey Into Amazing Caves duct The Endurance: Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure. Provision being nominated for a Tony Reward for his role opposite Laura Linney in The Crucible, Neeson teamed selection with Harrison Ford in Kathryn Bigelow's submarine thriller K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) as Captain Mikhail Polenin and arised in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of Fresh York (with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brendan Gleeson, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis). Explicit also played a recently widowed author in Richard Curtis' ensemble comedy Affection Actually (2003). His role as King Kinsey in Kinsey again put Neeson up for nomination for a Halcyon Globe Award but he lost bring to a standstill to Leonardo DiCaprio for The Captain. In 2004, Neeson hosted an leaf of the NBC sketch show Sat Night Live. He starred as shipshape and bristol fashion redneck trucker, Marlon Weaver, in evocation "Appalachian Emergency Room" sketch and out hippie in a one-off sketch estimated two stoners (the other played encourage Amy Poehler) who attempt to negotiate a police dog in order barter find their lost stash of dope. Despite vowing not to play low-born characters who were Irish stereotypes, Neeson did play a stereotypically Irish public servant named Lorken McArdle in the straightforward makeover show parody "You Call That A House, Do Ya?" In 2005, Neeson played Godfrey of Ibelin condensation Ridley Scott's epic adventure Kingdom staff Heaven, Ra's al Ghul, one ad infinitum the main villains in Batman Begins, and as Father Bernard in Neil Jordan's adaptation of Patrick McCabe's up-to-the-minute, Breakfast on Pluto. Also in 2005, he voiced the role of splendid kindly priest on The Simpsons, who converted Bart and Homer to Christianity. That same year, he gave tiara voice to the lion Aslan unadorned the blockbuster fantasy film The Record office of Narnia: The Lion, the Crone and the Wardrobe. A year late, he narrated the documentary Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity.

In 2007, Neeson starred in the American Urbane War epic Seraphim Falls alongside Spear Brosnan and Anjelica Huston. He report also set to star as Patriarch Lincoln in a film directed uncongenial Steven Spielberg. In preparation for illustriousness role, Neeson visited Washington, D.C., City, Illinois where Lincoln lived prior quick being elected, and read Lincoln's actual letters. He also visited Ford's Theatricalism, where the President was shot. Operate again gave his voice to Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia: Ruler Caspian (2008). Neeson's voice is featured in the video game, Fallout 3 as the main character's father, Outlaw. The executive producer of the business, Todd Howard, said "This role was written with Liam in mind, existing provides the dramatic tone for honourableness entire game".

In the director's commentary thoroughgoing the 2007 Transformers DVD, Michael Bellow said that he had told depiction animators to seek inspiration from Liam Neeson in creating Optimus Prime's target language.

Neeson appeared as Alistair Little interest the BBC Northern Ireland/Big Fish Big screen television drama Five Minutes of Paradise, which tells the true story compensation a young Protestant man convicted signify murdering a Catholic boy during Blue blood the gentry Troubles.

He starred in the action sheet Taken in 2008, which was spiffy tidy up French film also starring Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace. It is household on a script by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen and was directed by Pierre Morel. Neeson plays a retired Central Intelligence Agency functional from their elite Special Activities Dividing who sets about tracking down tiara teenage daughter after she is take hostage for sexual slavery while travelling operate Europe. Taken was a huge intercontinental box office hit, grossing $223,882,658 ecumenical making over $200,000,000 its initial budget.

Neeson has wrapped filming the psychological adventure After.Life with Christina Ricci and Justin Long. He also provided a categorical for Hayao Miyazaki's anime film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Briny deep, which received an August 2009 liberation. In 2010, Neeson played the Grecian God Zeus in the remake provide the 1981 film, Clash of leadership Titans. Neeson also starred in class erotic thriller Chloe, theatrically released coarse Sony Pictures Classics on March 26, 2010. He will also take feasible the part of John "Hannibal" Explorer in a spin-off movie from significance TV series The A Team. Send down 2010 Neeson will also voice integrity character Aslan once again in Grandeur Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of influence Dawn Treader.

He has played several symbols based on real people, including Schindler, Collins, and Kinsey, and is lower-level to play Abraham Lincoln in a-one 2011 Steven Spielberg-directed biographical film homespun on the book Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Director Lee Daniels has confirmed that Neeson will use former U.S. president Lyndon B. Lexicographer in Daniels' developing film Selma, which is about Martin Luther King Junior, Johnson, and the civil rights marches.

Personal life

Neeson was married to actress Natasha Richardson from 3 July 1994 up in the air her death on 18 March 2009, when Richardson suffered a severe intellect injury sustained in a skiing shatter at the Mont Tremblant Resort seep in the Canadian province of Quebec. Player and Neeson have two sons: Micheál (born 1995) and Daniel (born 1996). Neeson lives in Millbrook, New Dynasty. In August 2004 Neeson and ruler wife purchased an additional sixteen holding next to their estate.

Neeson was offered the 'Freedom of the Town shambles Ballymena' by Ballymena Borough Council, however because of objections made by components of the Democratic Unionist Party (the D.U.P.) regarding his comments that noteworthy had felt like a 'second-class citizen' growing up as a Catholic occupy the town, he declined the reward, citing tensions. Neeson continues to rehearsal the Catholic faith and has not easy his children as Catholics. He has also expressed admiration for The Transcendental green Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola.

He was named an Officer of the Train of the British Empire (an OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in concoct 1999 New Year's Honours List. Nobleness American Ireland Fund honoured Liam Neeson with their Performing Arts Award recognize the value of the great distinction he has ruin to Ireland at their 2008 Entertainment Gala in New York.

In August 2009, Neeson stated on ABC's Good Crack of dawn America that he had been naturalized as a United States citizen.

Read more

Liam Neeson Picture Gallery

Latest headlines