Liam Neeson’s favourite Liam Neeson movies: “I have a particular affection”
Posted On
(Credit: Alamy)
Few actors have reinvented themselves quite as many times as Liam Neeson. He first found his footing as an actor mostly through historical movies, like the Arthurian-inspired Excalibur or The Bounty, set aboard the famous naval ship of the same name. Then came his move into blockbusters. He lent his body to Qui-Gon Jinn in the first of the ‘Star Wars’ prequels and his voice to Aslan, the messianic lion at the centre of the ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ trilogy. More recently, he has established himself as a grey-haired action star. Think Unknown, A Walk Among the Tombstones, and, of course, Taken. That’s a lot of stuff to reflect on.
It’s impossible to choose just one favourite from a selection that varied, so, when the Northern Irishman was interviewed by Get Frank, he was allowed to have a trio of highlights from his across his lengthy career. “I have a particular affection for Michael Collins and Schindler’s List and The Grey,” he said. “They stand out.”
After saying all that about not having a favourite, Neeson then immediately undermined himself by zeroing in on one particular film. “Schindler’s List is a very, very special movie on lots of fronts,” he elaborated. “It was a brilliant script and it was great to work with Steven Spielberg. I formed a very, very close relationship with Steven and it was a wonderful film and it is still being shown in schools and colleges across America. I can’t speak for the rest of the world. It is a big educational influence in schools and colleges out there and I think that is terrific.”
This 1993 World War II epic is what made Neeson a household name. His portrayal of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who rescued over a thousand Jewish refugees from the clutches of the Nazis, blew everyone away upon its release. It’s still his most complete and challenging performance; he is the conduit for all the terror, repulsion, and optimism felt by the audience throughout the entire movie. He conducts himself with class and blazing humanity, and almost certainly should have won ‘Best Actor at that year’s Academy Awards over Tom Hanks.
The other two movies he mentioned shouldn’t be slept on, though. Released in 1996, Michael Collins features Neeson in the title role, a leading Irish independence campaigner during the early-1900s. As for The Grey, that’s a more recent Neeson offering, having come out in 2011. He plays a man stranded in the Alaskan wilderness after a plane crash, forced to come face-to-face with the savage wildlife that occupy the frozen tundra in order to survive. It might seem like mindless fodder on the surface, but The Grey is actually much deeper than it appears.
“I don’t know really where the action tag has come from,” Neeson said of his status as an on-screen hardman. “I was a tiny bit embarrassed by it, a tiny bit, but then people started sending me action scripts.” He soon fell in love with the genre, describing it as “a chance to be a kid again or a 25-year-old again.”
From these three movies alone, you can tell just how talented and versatile an actor Neeson is. This is just a small sample size of what he’s capable of; there’s plenty more Neeson to stick your teeth into if you fancy a deep dive. You won’t regret it.
[embedded content]
Related Topics
