Liam Neeson was born in 1952 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was the time of the Troubles, a political and nationalistic conflict that claimed the lives of more than three thousand five hundred people. He grew up a Catholic in a predominantly Protestant town, yet his interest in acting was inspired by prominent Protestant religious leader, Ian Paisley. “He had a magnificent presence,” said Neeson, “it was incredible to watch him … it was acting, but it was also great acting and stirring too.”
HISTORICAL DRAMA
After performing professionally on the Belfast stage, Neeson was offered a supporting role in the British film Excalibur (1981). He moved to London and starred alongside Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in The Bounty (1984) and with Robert De Niro in The Mission (1986). The role of Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List (1993), was to make Neeson internationally famous. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film about the Holocaust won Best Picture at the Oscars. Neeson was nominated as Best Actor.
HEROIC REBELS
Neeson then starred in two period pieces based on heroic rebellious figures: Scottish folk hero Rob Roy (1995) and Irish revolutionary Michael Collins (1996). He played a Jedi Master in the hit film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), the first Star Wars film to be released in sixteen years.
NEW DIRECTION
In the thriller Taken (2008), Neeson reinvented himself as an action hero, reprising the role in two further films. He also became prominent as a voice actor: his narration of The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Adventure (2002) helped the documentary win a number of awards.
RACIAL PROFILING
In Steve McQueen’s film Widows, Neeson played the criminal husband of Viola Davis. The film’s opening scene won acclaim for its portrayal of a loving mixed-race marriage. Yet Neeson soon hit the headlines for a terrible confession of racial profiling. When promoting the revenge film Cold Pursuit (2019), he said that as a young man he had reacted to the rape of a loved one by waiting outside a pub wanting to murder a black person.
A DIFFICULT DEBATE
Neeson was widely condemned for these comments. Yet others acknowledged his candour in confronting the terrible compulsion for revenge. Neeson had triggered an important debate. Clarifying that he was now horrified to recall what he had done, Neeson said: “I understand that need for revenge, but it just leads to more revenge, to more killing.”