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Early years -

Liam Neeson was born on June 7, 1952 in Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He began pursuing an acting career in 1976, joining the Lyric Players Theatre in Belfast, where he performed for two years. His first screen role was playing the Evangelist and Jesus Christ in 'Pilgrim's Progress' (1978).

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'Excalibur' (1981) -

It was filmmaker John Boorman who gave the burgeoning actor his first big break, offering him the role of Sir Gawain in 'Excalibur' (1981).

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On the career path -

After completing the film, Neeson relocated to London, setting up home with actress Helen Mirren whom he'd met on the set of 'Excalibur.' Meanwhile, he continued working on stage, and landed parts in a number of low-budget movies and television productions.

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'The Bounty' (1984) -

The 1980s proved highly productive and significant for Liam Neeson. In 1984, he appeared in the television miniseries 'Ellis Island.' Among his costars was Natasha Richardson. Of big screen outings, 'The Bounty' (1984), 'The Mission' (1986) and 'Duet for One' (1986) rank among his most successful during this period.

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'Suspect' (1987) -

Riding on the back of this success, Neeson moved to Hollywood to take higher-profile roles. One of these was 1987's 'Suspect,' costarring Cher and Dennis Quaid.

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'The Dead Pool' (1988) -

The following year, Neeson made an impression opposite Clint Eastwood in 'The Dead Pool,' another outing for 'Dirty Harry,' with Neeson playing a movie director who's embroiled in a bizarre game whereby participants predict the deaths of celebrities in the San Francisco Bay area.

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'Darkman' (1990) -

'Darkman,' directed by Sam Raimi, was Neeson's first film with top billing. A commercial and critical success, the movie helped cement his reputation as a leading man in Hollywood. In 1993, however, he returned to the stage to appear in Eugene O'Neill's 'Anna Christie' alongside his 'Ellis Island' costar, Natasha Richardson. Their onstage chemistry sparked rumors of a romance, while his acting received a Tony Award nomination.

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'Schindler's List' (1993) -

Among those who went to see Neeson in 'Anna Christie' was Steven Spielberg. Impressed, he offered the actor the role of Oskar Schindler in his Holocaust film 'Schindler's List.' It remains one of Neeson's defining performances and garnered him Academy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe award nominations.

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'Nell' (1994) -

'Nell' brought together Neeson and Jodie Foster in this tale of a young woman who has to face other people and the wider world for the first time after being raised by her mother in an isolated cabin. Natasha Richardson costarred in the picture.

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Marriage to Natasha Richardson -

On July 3, 1994, Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson were married. They would go on to have two children together, Micheál and Daniel.

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'Rob Roy' (1995) -

Now an in-demand leading actor, Neeson followed 'Nell' with 'Rob Roy,' playing the titular character, an 18th-century clan chief and Scottish folk hero, opposite Jessica Lange as his wife.

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'Michael Collins' (1996) -

In another career-defining performance, the actor played Irish revolutionary, soldier, and politician Michael Collins in Neil Jordan's acclaimed biographical drama. For his efforts, Neeson was nominated for a Golden Globe.

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'Les Misérables' (1998) -

Neeson starred as Jean Valjean in the 1998 adaptation of Victor Hugo's 'Les Misérables,' which received generally positive reviews from critics. Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, and Claire Danes provided admirable support.

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'Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace' (1999) -

The actor ended the '90s out of this world playing Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in 'Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,' a role George Lucas insisted was Neeson's from the get-go. His performance received positive reviews.

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'The Crucible' (2002) -

Taking a break from the big screen, Neeson returned to the stage opposite Laura Linney in a Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible,' for which he received his second Tony Award nomination.

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'Gangs of New York' (2002) -

Movie appearances throughout the 2000s included a supporting role in Martin Scorsese's well-received 'Gangs of New York.'

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'Love Actually' (2003) -

Neeson was also among the ensemble cast in Richard Curtis' smash-hit comedy 'Love Actually.'

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'Kinsey' (2004) -

The Irish Film and Television Academy awarded Neeson the Best Actor award for his portrayal of American professor Alfred Kinsey in 2004's 'Kinsey.' He also received another Golden Globe nomination for this picture.

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'Seraphim Falls' (2006) -

The mid-2000s saw Neeson divide his time between television appearances on shows such as 'Saturday Night Live' and 'The Simpsons,' and voicing the lion Aslan in the blockbuster fantasy film 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' (2005). A standout movie role around this time was as a Confederate bounty hunter on the trail of a Union soldier (Pierce Brosnan) with whom he has a grudge.

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'Taken' (2008) -

In 2008, cinema audiences were introduced to Neeson's character Bryan Mills, an ex-CIA agent who in 'Taken' sets about tracking down his teenage daughter and her best friend after the two girls are kidnapped by Albanian human traffickers. The film marked a turning point in Neeson's career that redefined and transformed him into an action film star. Its success spawned two sequels, 'Taken 2' (2012) and 'Taken 3' (2014).

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Return to where it all started -

In 2008, Liam Neeson made a poignant return to the place where it all started, the Lyric Players Theatre in Belfast. But it was an occasion of mixed emotion in that the venue had already been slated for demolition to make room for a brand new building, eventually built on the same site.

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Tragedy -

On March 18, 2009, Liam Neeson's world was shattered after the death of his wife Natasha in a skiing accident that had taken place in Canada. She died from an epidural hematoma. Pictured is the widowed Neeson with actress Vanessa Redgrave, Richardson's mother, during her funeral at Saint Peter's Cemetery in Millbrook, New York.

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'Unknown' (2011) -

Despite the death of his wife, Neeson kept working. 'Chloe' (2009), costarring Julianne Moore, while not faring well with critics, was a commercial success. It wasn't until 2011's 'Unknown' that Neeson regained his stride. A thriller set in Berlin, the movie took full advantage of the actor's burgeoning status as an action film star.

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UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador -

The same year, 2011, Liam Neeson joined the ranks of many other A-list celebrities by accepting an invitation to became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. His work has raised substantial funds for good causes globally.

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'War of the Worlds' (2012) -

In an unusual departure, Neeson was cast to play the lead character, a journalist, in a new album recording and arena production of Jeff Wayne's musical version of 'War of the Worlds,' playing the role through the use of 3D holography.

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'The Grey' (2012) -

Later in 2012, Neeson starred in the gritty survival film 'The Grey' as one of a number of oil men stranded in Alaska after a plane crash who draw the attention of a pack of aggressive Canadian grey wolves. The movie was positively received.

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'A Walk Among the Tombstones' (2014) -

'A Walk Among the Tombstones' provided Neeson with one of his more compelling roles, that of Matthew Scudder, a private investigator hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

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'Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House' (2017) -

Mark Felt was the FBI agent who was the anonymous source nicknamed "Deep Throat" for reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein during their investigation in what became known as the Watergate scandal. The famous whistleblower is played by Neeson in this biographic political thriller.

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'Cold Pursuit' (2019) -

Two Neeson movies stood out in 2019, 'Cold Pursuit' and 'Ordinary Love.' While 'Ordinary Love,' a heartrending tale of a husband dealing with his wife's cancer diagnosis, didn't get the wider release it deserved, 'Cold Pursuit,' while positively reviewed, suffered from overexposure for all the wrong reasons.

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Controversy -

While promoting 'Cold Pursuit,' a story about a grieving father who seeks out revenge against the drug dealers who killed his son, Neeson spoke in a newspaper interview and later during a broadcast edition of 'Good Morning America' that he once sought to harm a random man of color as part of a revenge fantasy after learning that his friend's assailant was a black man. His remarks prompted widespread accusations of racism, and the red carpet event for the New York premiere of 'Cold Pursuit' was promptly canceled. Neesion is pictured walking out of the 'Good Morning America' studios on February 5, 2019 after the now notorious interview.

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100th movie -

'Marlowe' is Liam Neeson's 100th film. In it he plays Raymond Chandlers' legendary private detective Philip Marlowe. He's pictured on set in Barcelona in November 2021. Also starring Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, 'Marlowe' was released in 2023.

Sources: (The Lyric Theatre) (ABC News) (Rolling Stone)

See also: Your favorite Irish actors ever

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