BIO

Liam Neeson was born Liam John Neeson in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, in 1952.   One of four siblings, his father was the caretaker at a primary school and his mother worked as a cook.   Tall, with a long reach, Neeson became Ulster's amateur boxing champion.   He dropped out of university and later attended a teacher’s training college before deciding to pursue acting as a profession.

Neeson joined the Lyric Players’ Theatre in Belfast, in 1976, and still maintains his ties there as a patron.

He made his feature film debut in 1978, at the age of 26, soon moved to London to further both his film and stage career and decamped to Hollywood in the early 1980s.

He made his Broadway debut in 1993 and appeared in 5 productions through 2003.   Steven Spielberg, impressed with his performance in his first Broadway show, a revival of Anna Christie (1993), asked him to try out for the lead role in his new film, Schindler’s List (1993).

Neeson received an Academy Award nomination for his performance.

He has appeared in more than 75 feature films.   His instantly recognizable, deep brogue has also led to a lot of voice work.

Neeson married the actress Natasha Richardson (1963-2009) in 1994 after meeting and performing with her in Anna Christie.   The couple raised two children until Richardson's untimely death, in 2009, after a skiing accident while vacationing in Canada.

Additional Broadway stage history is available at:

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS