LIAM NEESON BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Liam Neeson was born William Neeson on June 7, 1952 in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The actor was raised in a working class family, with his mother a cook and his father a custodian at a Catholic school. He was brought up Catholic; he even got his name from their local priest. At age nine Neeson began boxing, which he stuck with into teen years. He did not stop practicing the sport until he began to black out from all the blows to the head, but even today he is known for the crooked nose that boxing gave him.
Neeson attended Belfast's Queens College to become a teacher, but dropped out after a year of studying. In 1976 he found interest in acting, and joined the Belfast Lyric Players' Theatre. The actor stayed there for two years, and then joined the Abbey Theatre. He also began acting in front of the camera, although nothing very well known. While performing at the Abbey, director John Boorman spotted the actor, and cast him in the Arthurian picture "Excalibur" (1981).
After appearing in the film, Neeson moved to London to continue acting on stage, in television, and in movies. He found parts in British films like "The Bounty" (1984), "Lamb" (1985), and "The Mission" (1986). Upon doing an episode of "Miami Vice" (1986), the actor decided to move to Hollywood. In 1987 he appeared alongside Dennis Quaid and Cher in "The Suspect", but it was not until 1990's "Darkman" that he finally landed a lead. He continued to do fair work in movies such as "Leap of Faith" (1992), "Husbands and Wives" (1992), "Shining Through" (1992), and "Ethan Frome" (1993), but he also gravitated back towards the stage where he starred opposite Natasha Richardson (whom he would later marry and stay with until her 2009 death) in 1992's Broadway show "Anna Christie". Steven Spielberg happened to catch notice of the actor's talent, and consequently cast him as Oskar Schindler in the critically acclaimed Holocaust feature "Schindler's List" (1993). For his role, Neeson earned both a nod at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes.
After "Schindler's List", he became a well known name in Hollywood and no longer worried about finding work. He appeared alongside his wife in "Nell" (1994), as well as other movies like "Rob Roy" (1995), "Michael Collins" (1996) (in which he was nominated for a Golden Globe), and "Les Misérables" (1998). None of these earned the same acclaim, however, as his next one, George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" (1999). The film became major box-office hit, further enhancing Neeson's reputation.
Soon after, he played in the remake of "The Haunting" (1999), the dark comedy "Gun Shy" (2000), Kathryn Bigalow's submarine thriller "K-19: The Widowmaker" (2002), and Martin Scorsese's period piece "Gangs of New York" (2002). The actor then appeared in the popular romantic comedy "Love Actually" (2003), followed by the biopic about human sexuality expert Alfred Kinsey called "Kinsey" (2004), which earned him a third Golden Globe nomination. In 2005 Neeson performed in Ridley Scott's adventure "Kingdom of Heaven", played League of Shadows member Henri Ducard in "Batman Begins", acted as a priest in "Breakfast on Pluto" and on an episode of "The Simpsons", and voiced the wise lion Aslan in "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe".
Upon playing a Civil-War colonel in "Seraphim Falls" (2006), Neeson starred as a retired CIA agent looking for his kidnapped daughter in the French produced "Taken" (2008). Next he gave his voice again for Aslan in "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" (2008), as well as for character Fujimoto in the English version of "Ponyo" (2008). In 2009 the actor played in the psychological thriller "After.Life" with Christina Ricci and Justin Long, followed by parts in 2010's "Clash of the Titans" and "The A-Team". Soon after, he again voiced the lion for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (2010). In 2011 the actor starred as a man fighting for his identity in "Unknown" and for his life in "The Grey".
Most recently he has appeared in the action packed "Wrath of the Titans" (2012) and "Battleship" (2012). Neeson's upcoming films "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012), "Taken 2" (2012), "Non-Stop" (2013), and "The Butler" (2013) are set to release soon.
Filmography
2012 Taken 2
2012 The Dark Knight Rises
2012 Battleship
2012 Wrath of the Titans
2011 The Grey
2011 A Child's Garden of Poetry
2011 Unknown
2011 Star Wars: The Clone Wars
2010 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
2010 The Next Three Days
2010 The Big C
2010 Cubed
2010 The A-Team
2010 Clash of the Titans
2009 After.Life
2009 Chloe
2009 Five Minutes of Heaven
2008 The Other Man
2008 Ponyo
2008 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
2008 Taken
2006 Seraphim Falls
2005 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2005 Breakfast on Pluto
2005 Batman Begins
2005 The Simpsons
2005 Kingdom of Heaven
2004 Kinsey
2004 Patrick
2003 Love Actually
2002 Gangs of New York
2002 K-19: The Widowmaker
2002 Liberty's Kids: Est. 1776
2000 The Man Who Came to Dinner
2000 Gun Shy
1999 The Haunting
1999 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
1998 Les Misérables
1996 Michael Collins
1996 Before and After
1996 The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century
1995 Rob Roy
1994 Nell
1993 Schindler's List
1993 Ruby Cairo
1993 Ethan Frome
1992 Leap of Faith
1992 Husbands and Wives
1992 Shining Through
1991 Revolver
1991 Under Suspicion
1990 Crossing the Line
1990 Darkman
1989 Next of Kin
1988 High Spirits
1988 The Good Mother
1988 The Dead Pool
1988 Satisfaction
1988 Screen Two
1987 Suspect
1987 A Prayer for the Dying
1987 Sworn to Silence
1986 Duet for One
1986 Hold the Dream
1986 Miami Vice
1986 The Mission
1986 If Tomorrow Comes
1986 The Delta Force
1985 Lamb
1985 The Innocent
1985 Arthur the King
1985 A Woman of Substance
1984 Ellis Island
1984 The Bounty
1983 Krull
1981 Charlie Was a Rich Man
1981 Excalibur
1981 Nailed
1980 BBC2 Playhouse
1979 Christiana
1979 Pilgrim's Progress
1978 Play for Today
