Liam Neeson
Birthdate: Jun 7, 1952
Birthplace: Ballymena, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK
Not many can boast a movie star career of over thirty years, but Liam Neeson (birthname: William John Neeson) belongs to that exclusive club. In an interesting reversal of the usual pattern for actors and types of film roles, Neeson made his early impact in prestigious, sometimes high-toned movies, and then later shifted his profile toward broad audience action entertainments where he frequently plays a man with a past or scores to settle who’s pursuing vengeance. As an indicator of this, Neeson became a steady and reliable box office name only after he scored his sole Oscar nomination for Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993).
Boasting a swarthy profile and tall stature which he has always used to his advantage, Neeson combines a powerful combination for a film actor working in English: A rich, commanding voice mixing Northern Irish lilt with an all-purpose mid-Atlantic accent, a strong physical presence, and a natural gravitas with working-class roots. These gifts, plus Neeson’s deep training in the theater and his keen eye for commercial appeal, are the secrets to his sustained success.
Director John Boorman spotted this when he saw Neeson on the stage at Dublin’s Alley Theatre’s production of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, and cast him as a big knight in Excalibur (1981), in which he met his future girlfriend and professional mentor, Helen Mirren. Liam Neeson’s next significant role was in The Bounty (1984), opposite the imposing ensemble of Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Edward Fox, and Daniel Day-Lewis. This was followed by Roland Joffe’s The Mission (1986) and an acclaimed turn in Suspect (1987), as well as the final Dirty Harry movie, The Dead Pool (1988) with Clint Eastwood.
Liam Neeson’s first role to hit the popular imagination, though, was in what remains one of the earliest and most imaginative superhero movies of the contemporary era—as Peyton Westlake/Darkman in Sam Raimi’s Darkman (1990). This opened up many more leading-man roles, including Under Suspicion (1991), with Laura San Giacomo; a powerful turn in Woody Allen’s fine drama, Husbands and Wives with Judy Davis, Mia Farrow, and Juliette Lewis (1992); the titular character in Ethan Frome (1993) with Patricia Arquette, followed by perhaps his most important role, as Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List, for which Neeson (by all accounts) narrowly lost the Best Actor Oscar to Tom Hanks (for Philadelphia).
Liam Neeson promptly used this new prestigious profile to the maximum, acting in serious dramas like Michael Apted’s Nell (1994) with Jodie Foster and future wife Natasha Richardson, and portraying strong historical figures such as Scottish hero Rob Roy (1995) and Irish leader Michael Collins (1996). Neeson became one of the faces of grand Hollywood epics, ranging from Valjean in Tom Hooper’s non-musical version of Les Misérables (1998) and George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace (1999) to K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) to his grand turn in Martin Scorsese’s ambitious Gangs of New York (2002) with Daniel Day-Lewis, as well as the Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven with Orlando Bloom and Eva Green.
Neeson’s romantic comedy side appeared in the smash hit, Love Actually (2003) with Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, and Bill Nighy, contrasted by his brilliant, award-winning portrait of sex doctor Alfred Kinsey in Kinsey (2004) (again with Linney), which guaranteed Neeson status as a member of the tiny club of male stars who could command box-office earnings and critical acclaim.
Liam Neeson launched, almost imperceptibly, the beginnings of an entirely different phase of his career by doing voice work in big commercial vehicles like Batman Begins (2005), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), and the Narina follow-ups, Prince Caspian (2008) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) and then turning to brawny action entertainments. Nothing exemplified this better than his Taken trilogy, which made Neeson a very wealthy man: the mega-hits Taken (2008), Taken 2 (2012), and Taken 3 (2014), which created for him a template that he’s followed since.
Even with distinguished performances in dramas like The Grey (2011), A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014), Paul Haggis’ Third Person (2013) with Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody, and Olivia Wilde, and Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (2017), Liam Neeson became the quintessential Action Man of Hollywood, altering the paradigm of the type from younger to a more mature figure. This string is typified by Martin Campbell’s Memory (2022), in which Neeson plays a contract killer losing his memory.
Easily overlooked during this “action phase” are Neeson’s diverse roles in dramas such as Ordinary Love (2019) with Lesley Manville and a cracked impresario in the Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018). Liam Neeson in a further departure from his bigger commercial vehicles is taking took on the role of Philip Marlowe in Neil Jordan’s Marlowe (2022), with Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Colm Meaney, Danny Huston, and Alan Cumming, and which grossed $6.27 million.
Liam Neeson starred in the Nimrod Antal-directed thriller, Retribution (2023), with Matthew Modine, Embeth Davidtz, and Noma Dumezweni, but which lost money for its French-German-Spanish-American co-producers and distributors Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions, and StudioCanal. Neeson led a striking roster of actors while reuniting with director Robert Lorenz in the Irish-produced IRA-themed thriller, In the Land of Saints & Sinners (2023), co-starring Kerry Condon, Jack Gleeson, Ciarán Hinds, Sarah Greene, Colm Meaney, and Niamh Cusack, and which premiered at the Venice film festival.
Neeson continued his long string of crime movies by starring under Hans Petter Moland’s direction in the thriller, Thug (date to be announced), with Ron Perlman, Yolanda Ross, and Daniel Diemar. Neeson starred in the Studio Canal-backed thriller, Cold Storage (date to be announced), directed by Jonny Campbell and written by David Koepp, adapting his novel, and featuring Lesley Manville, Joe Keery, Georgina Campbell, Sosie Bacon, and Vanessa Redgrave.
Liam Neeson reprised his lead role as Mike in writer-director Jonathan Hensleigh’s action sequel, The Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky (date to be announced), co-starring a fresh roster of cast mates for Neeson including Fan Bingbing, Bernard Curry, and Geoff Morrell.
Neeson entered the revival game with a reboot of The Naked Gun (2025), directed by Akiva Schaffer and co-written by Dan Gregor, Mark Hentemann, and Seth MacFarlane, and then resumed his role of Irish mobster Jimmy and reunited with director Jaume Collet-Serra for the sequel, Run All Night 2 (date to be announced).
Neeson joined renowned Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan for the prison drama, The Riker’s Ghost (date to be announced), co-written by Sean O’Keefe and Brian Rudnick, and then starred in the Iraq-based thriller, Charlie Johnson in the Flames (date to be announced), co-scripted by Michael Ignatieff and Justin Haythe, adapting Ignatieff’s novel about a crusading journalist.
Personal Details
Liam Neeson was born in the Northern Ireland community of Ballymena in County Antrim to parents Katherine (aka “Kitty”) and Bernard. He had a Catholic working-class upbringing and early adulthood in predominantly Protestant Belfast, along with his three sisters Rosaline, Elizabeth, and Bernadette. Neeson attended St. Patrick’s College, where he caught the acting bug. He studied computer science and physics at the Queen’s University of Belfast, but flunked his exams and left university, working several jobs including forklift at a Guinness plant, truck driver, assistant to architects, and even amateur boxing.
He was a member of the Belfast Lyric Players’ Theatre in his early 20s, but began acting in earnest only at age 33, and only then because a Belfast theater company was searching for a tall man for a specific role. He was in a relationship with actor Helen Mirren in the early 1980s. Neeson was married to actor Natasha Richardson until she died in 2009; the couple had two sons, Daniel Neeson and actor Micheál Richardson (né Micheál Richard Antonio Neeson). Liam Neeson is the son-in-law of actor Vanessa Richardson and late director Tony Richardson. He is a joint citizen of Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, where he was naturalized in 2009. Liam Neeson’s net worth in 2022 is estimated at $145 million.* Neeson’s philanthropy has placed him among the world’s 200 most influential philanthropists and social entrepreneurs.
Filmography
actor
Previous (33)
- 2024 | AbsolutionasThug
Absolution
An aging gangster attempts to reconnect with his children and rectify the mistakes in his past, but the criminal underworld won't loosen their grip willingly.
- 2024 |
- 2024 | In the Land of Saints and SinnersasFinbar Murphy
In the Land of Saints and Sinners
A disillusioned hitman comes out of retirement for one last job when an IRA bomber on the run from the law arrives in his sleepy Irish village.
- 2023 | RetributionasMatt Turner
Retribution
A bank executive receives a bomb threat while driving his children to school that his car will explode if they stop and get out.
- 2023 |
- 2022 |
- 2022 | BlacklightasTravis Block
Blacklight
Travis Block is a government operative coming to terms with his shadowy past. When he discovers a plot targeting U.S. citizens, Block finds himself in the crosshairs of the FBI director he once helped protect.
- 2021 | The Ice Road
The Ice Road
After a remote diamond mine collapses in far northern Canada, a ‘big-rig’ ice road driver must lead an impossible rescue mission over a frozen ocean to save the trapped miners.
- 2021 | The MarksmanasJim
The Marksman
A rancher on the Arizona border becomes the unlikely defender of a young Mexican boy desperately fleeing the cartel assassins who've pursued him into the U.S.
- 2020 | Honest ThiefasTom Dolan
Honest Thief
Wanting to lead an honest life, a notorious bank robber turns himself in, only to be double-crossed by two ruthless FBI agents.
- 2020 | Made in ItalyasRobert
Made in Italy
A bohemian artist travels from London to Italy with his estranged son to sell the house they inherited from their late wife/mother.
- 2020 | Ordinary LoveasTom
Ordinary Love
An extraordinary look at the lives of a middle-aged couple in the midst of the wife's breast cancer diagnosis.
- 2019 | Men in Black: InternationalasAgent High T
Men in Black: International
The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In this new adventure, they tackle their biggest threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organization.
- 2019 | Cold PursuitasNels Coxman
Cold Pursuit
A grieving snowplow driver seeks out revenge against the drug dealers who killed his son.
- 2018 | Schindler’s List: 2018 Re-releaseasOskar Schindler
Schindler’s List: 2018 Re-release
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
- 2018 |
- 2018 | The CommuterasMichael MacCauley
The Commuter
An insurance salesman/ex-cop is caught up in a life-threatening conspiracy during his daily commute home.
- 2017 | Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White HouseasMark Felt
Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House
The story of Mark Felt, who under the name "Deep Throat" helped journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the Watergate scandal in 1972.
- 2015 | Run All NightasJimmy Conlon
Run All Night
Mobster and hit man Jimmy Conlon has one night to figure out where his loyalties lie: with his estranged son, Mike, whose life is in danger, or his longtime best friend, mob boss Shawn Maguire, who wants Mike to pay for the death of his own son.
- 2015 |
- 2014 | A Walk mong the TombstonesasMatt Scudder
A Walk mong the Tombstones
Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.
- 2014 | A Million Ways to Die in the WestasClinch
A Million Ways to Die in the West
As a cowardly farmer begins to fall for the mysterious new woman in town, he must put his newly found courage to the test when her husband, a notorious gun-slinger, announces his arrival.
- 2014 |
- 2014 | The Nut JobasRaccoon
The Nut Job
An incorrigibly self-serving exiled squirrel finds himself helping his former park brethren survive by raiding a nut store, a location that also happens to be a front for a human gang's bank robbery.
- 2012 |
- 2012 | BattleshipasAdmiral Shane
Battleship
A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals.
- 2012 | Wrath of the TitansasZeus
Wrath of the Titans
Perseus braves the treacherous underworld to rescue his father, Zeus, captured by his son, Ares, and brother Hades who unleash the ancient Titans upon the world.
- 2012 |
- 2010 | The A-TeamasHannibal
The A-Team
A group of Iraq War veterans look to clear their name with the U.S. Military, who suspect the four men of committing a crime for which they were framed.
- 2009 |
- 2003 | Love ActuallyasDaniel
Love Actually
Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
- 1999 | Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Two Jedi escape a hostile blockade to find allies and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to claim their original glory.
- 1993 | Schindler’s ListasOskar Schindler
Schindler’s List
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Some Facts About Liam Neeson
The Boxer: As a teenager, Liam Neeson won the Irish Youth Championship in boxing, broke his nose during a bout, and finally quit after a disturbing blackout at age 17.
Debut: Neeson’s film debut was as Jesus Christ in the film Pilgrim’s Progress (1977).
Good Eye: Director John Boorman scouted and picked Liam Neeson for his first significant film role in Excalibur (1981) after watching the actor on stage at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre.
All-timer: Neeson was ranked #69 on Empire magazine’s poll of the top 100 movie stars in history.
Too Short?: Liam Neeson lost out on a role in The Princess Bride (1987) when director Rob Reiner deemed the nearly 6’ 4” actor too short for the role.
Sober: Neeson said that he began to drink as many as three bottles of wine a night after his wife Natasha Richardson’s tragic skiing accident death, and then quit alcohol altogether. He also quit smoking in 2003.
Man of the Theater: Neeson has enjoyed a robust theater career as a member of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, the Royal National Theatre, and the Dublin Shakespeare Theatre Festival, as well as a board member of the Conference of Drama Schools which supervises all drama schools in the U.K., and many appearances on Broadway, capped by two Tony Awards acting nominations (for revivals of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Eugene O’Neill’s Anna Christie).
Back to School: Even though he flunked out of Queen’s University of Belfast, Liam Neeson was granted an honorary degree from the school in 2009.
True-to-Life: Neeson has enacted a remarkable number of historical figures on film, including Oskar Schindler, Mark (“Deep Throat”) Felt, Michael Collins, Alfred Kinsey, Scottish hero Rob Roy, and briefly portrayed Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s film until he dropped out in lieu of Daniel Day-Lewis.
Big Earner: Liam Neeson earned (in salary and other compensation) a total of $40 million for the three films in the Taken franchise.
