Physically imposing but gentle in temperament, Irish born actor Liam Neeson has been called to play some of film's most interesting and paradoxical heroes. From real life legends like Oskar Schindler and Michael Collins to classic literature's Jean Valjean and even the modern day antihero Darkman, Neeson's masterful characterizations of flawed men capable of extraordinary things have established him as a performer of great note, bringing an uncommon humble grace to his profession.
After a teenaged career as a boxer landed him a broken nose that remains one of his most striking features, Neeson had a failed attempt at university and teacher's college and jobs as a brewery forklift operator and an architect's apprentice before he made his professional stage debut in 1976 as part of Belfast's Lyric Players' Theatre company. The role of Irish Labor leader Big Jim in "The Risen People" was offered him initially because of his uncommon height (6'4"). Talent proved an even greater asset to Neeson, and his performance won him a spot with the Players, with whom he acted for two years. After a southern move to Dublin, the actor joined that city's famed Abbey Theatre, where a starring role as Lenny in a 1980 production of "Of Mice and Men" won the attention of director John Boorman, who cast the imposing actor as sword-wielding Sir Gawain in the 1981 feature "Excalibur". While that marked his feature film debut, the actor had previously appeared on celluloid, having already taken on the role of Jesus in an educational film adaptation of "The Pilgrim's Progress". Neeson continued to work in British films, including featured roles "The Bounty" (1984) and "The Mission" (1986) as well as offering compelling star turns in "The Innocent" (1984) and "Lamb" (1985).
Neeson hit the shores of America, making his US television debut with a role in the 1984 CBS miniseries "Ellis Island", and was featured that same year in the syndicated miniseries based on Barbara Taylor Bradford's bestseller "A Woman of Substance", reprised his role as Blackie O'Neill in the 1986 sequel miniseries "Hold That Dream". A 1986 turn as an IRA operative on NBC's "Miami Vice" preceded his more permanent move to Los Angeles and subsequent role in the 1987 thriller "Suspect" as a deaf mute charged with murder, represented by Cher. In 1988, Neeson was featured in several films, some ("The Good Mother", "Sweet as You Are") more worthwhile than others ("Satisfaction"), but even the misfire "High Spirits" had its upside, bringing the actor together with director Neil Jordan, who tagged Neeson as the perfect choice for his dream biopic of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins. In 1990 the actor starred as "Darkman", a scientist savagely attacked and disfigured by a corrupt city developer's henchmen. Sam Raimi's direction, hearkening back to classic science fiction and horror thrillers and Neeson's genuine and heartfelt portrayal helped to elevate the film above its comic book trappings and marked his debut as an American feature star.
Neeson later won romantic lead roles in the World War II drama "Shining Through" and "Husbands and Wives" (both 1992) and starred as the title character in John Madden's adaptation of "Ethan Frome" (1993), Edith Wharton's classic tale of a doomed love. After a bit of coaxing by Natasha Richardson, he was drawn back to the stage in 1992 to star opposite the actress on Broadway in "Anna Christie". This role would prove quite a boon for the actor, not only leading to his marriage to Richardson but also to his breakthrough film role. Just as Neeson's stage debut in Belfast had impressed Boorman to cast him in "Excalibur", his Broadway debut led director Steven Spielberg to cease his search for an Oskar Schindler for the moving World War II drama "Schindler's List". Neeson's soft-spoken masculinity and serene power made him a perfect choice to play the Austrian businessman who, while imperfect, was fundamentally a savior, rescuing over 1,000 Jews marked for death at the hands of the Nazis. His charismatic and nuanced performance won rave reviews and brought him a Best Actor Academy Award nomination. After dozens of film appearances, Neeson had finally arrived.
In 1994, Neeson co-starred as a small town doctor with Richardson in "Nell", starring Jodie Foster as a woman raised apart form civilization who has created her own language and way of life. His 1995 role as 18th Century Scottish legend "Rob Roy" may have unfortunately been released too near to "Braveheart" for moviegoers, resulting in fewer witnesses to Neeson's inspired performance. Next he starred in "Before and After" as an ill-advised father who acts rashly when faced with his teenaged son's arrest and subsequent murder charge. Neeson's portrayal of the morally torn Ben Ryan, alongside strong performances by Meryl Streep and Edward Furlong, was a highlight of Barbet Schroeder's film.
After over a decade of planning, Neil Jordan was finally able to make "Michael Collins" (1996), due both to the success of "Interview With the Vampire" (1994) and the emergence of his chosen star [Neeson] as a box office draw. With a supporting cast featuring such notables as Aidan Quinn, Alan Rickman, Stephen Rea and Julia Roberts, the film told of the legendary Irish revolutionary who fought for a free and peaceful republic. The film was met with some political resistance, but was undeniable as a stirring, beautifully made and masterfully acted work, winning the highest prize of the Venice Film Festival, the Golden Lion as well as earning Neeson the festival's Best Actor award.
In 1998, the actor returned to the Broadway stage as Oscar Wilde in David Hare's "The Judas Kiss," the story of the breaking of the beloved author and wit, chronicling his two year prison sentence, his decision to serve it out rather than flee the country, and his subsequent release as a different man. Critics were divided on Neeson's performance, many considering him an unlikely physical type (despite the fact that Wilde was 6'3" and lumbering) or objecting to Neeson's heterosexuality; some labeled his performance stiff and boring, while others praised the actor's magnetic, enthralling and emotional portrayal. That same year he took on another legend of literature, this time portraying Victor Hugo's timeless and noble victim of injustice Jean Valjean in Bille August's adaptation of "Les Miserables". Again his gentle but intense presence and air of experience made him a natural choice for the role.
As Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn in the much-anticipated prequel "Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace" (1999), Neeson had the distinct honor of being the first person ever to utter the magical words "May the force be with you." The actor pursued the role, interested in being a part of the "Star Wars" modern legend. While acting against several computer generated characters added in editing, and given some pretty uninspired dialogue, Neeson brought a quiet grace to his role, and served, along with cast mates Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L Jackson and newcomer Jake Lloyd, to keep the film from becoming a soulless special effects vehicle. Later that summer he undertook a more sinister role, as the professor who conducts psychological studies on a diverse trio of individuals in the remake of the "The Haunting", a modern adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel "The Haunting of Hill House". Neeson also starred as a retiring DEA agent faced with one last exasperating case in the dark romantic comedy "Gun Shy" (lensed 1998), co-starring and produced by Sandra Bullock.
While Neeson did not appear in 2002's "Star Wars" installment (save for a brief voice-over cameo), that year he did appear with Harrison Ford in "K-19: The Widowmaker," adroitly playing a noble, sensitive Russian submarine captain who clashes with his stern taskmaster and superior Ford when their vessel becomes the subject of a nuclear accident with international repercussions, as well as with Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz, in the much awaited Scorsese film "Gangs of New York." Neeson played DiCaprio's father and the leader of the Dead Rabbits gang in the opening of the film, which portrayed the violent gang warfare between the natives of New York and ethnic immigrants in the middle of the 19th century. Dialing down into a more sensitive mode, Neeson appeared in the large ensemble of writer-director Richard Curtis' multi-arc romantic comedy "Love Actually" (2003) effectively playing a recently widowed stepfather who struggles to forge a deeper relationship with his late wife's son (Thomas Sangster).
Neeson gave a bravura performance as the noted sex researcher Alfred Kinsey in writer-director Bill Condon's biopic "Kinsey" (2004) opposite Laura Linney, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor, but snubbed out of a nomination at the Oscars. The following year, he appeared in the epic historical drama, "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005), which took place in the relative calm between the 2nd and 3rd Crusades of the 12th century. Neeson played Godfrey of Ibelin, a Crusader knight who calls upon his long-lost son (Orlando Bloom) to help him defend Jerusalem from Muslim invaders. Directed by Ridley Scott, the film provoked little outrage for its subject matter despite a post-9/11 world and treated Muslims-usually easy bad guy fodder for Hollywood-with fairness.
Neeson was appropriately ambiguous in the role of the malevolent Henri Ducard, a mysterious member of the League of Shadows and a key figure in Bruce Wayne early transformation into the Dark Knight, in "Batman Begins" (2005). In "Breakfast on Pluto" (2005), Neil Jordan's romp through the cultural dustbin of 1970's London as seen through the eyes of Patrick "Kitten" Braden, a transvestite and suspected IRA bomber (Cillian Murphy), Neeson played Father Bernard, the parish priest in the Irish village where Braden was born and reared. Meanwhile, Neeson provided the voice of Aslan the Lion in the much-anticipated fantasy adventure, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (2005). |
