Culture news “A dream come true” After a career spanning 50 years, Liam Neeson looks back on his first major role with nostalgia
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Liam Neeson is a prolific actor who has appeared in over a hundred films during his long career in Hollywood, which is still ongoing. One project in particular had a profound impact on him. Unsurprisingly, this is his “real” first role in the cinema.
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More than 100 career films for Liam Neeson
Between 1978 and 2023, Liam Neeson was credited in no less than 100 film credits and 3 others are already planned for 2024 and in the years to come. Born in June 1952 in Ballymena in Northern Ireland, he notably played for Steven Spielberg in Schindler's List (1993), for George Lucas in Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) and for Martin Scorsese in Gangs of New York (2002). Subsequently, he specialized in action cinema following the success of the Taken saga.
Liam Neeson is a real workaholic and he completely embraces this state of affairs. During a interview conducted by our IndieWire colleague Kate Erbland , the actor of Irish origin spoke about his relationship with work and about this passion for cinema which carried him throughout his career in Hollywood. When she tells him: “You must like to work.”, he answers her bluntly:
I like working, because I always have so much pleasure seeing a group of strangers in a country who finance themselves together and offer me a scenario, men and women I have never met in my life, and who want me to star in their film. -Liam Neeson
A notable first role
Following 2 appearances in 1978 then 1981 in Pilgrim's Progress and Christiana, Liam Neeson obtained his first important role. The same year, he plays Gawain in the film adaptation “Excalibur” based on the compilation of Arthurian novels written in the 15th century. Directed by John Boorman (Zardoz), he then took his first significant steps in front of the camera. His career is now launched. He also has excellent memories of the filming of Excalibur, this being the first one he really remembers.
Well, a great film would be Excalibur, which we shot in Ireland in 1980. It was extraordinary, because it had Helen Mirren and Nicol Williamson – who's dead now, God rest his soul – an extraordinary actor – and There we were, all dressed in shining armor and on horseback. It was like a dream come true. Tell this Arthurian myth, this story several thousand years old. It was something.
And filming it in Ireland was just brilliant. John Boorman, the director, was a wonderful mentor to Gabriel Byrne, Ciaran Hinds and myself. He took us behind the camera, showed us what he was looking at, explained to us why he was shooting in this or that way, explained to us what the camera was doing, the different ways in which he was going to film us. -Liam Neeson
Kate Erbland then asks him if a particular shoot holds a special place in his heart. That is, if he considers any of them his favorite. Liam Neeson can't bring himself to choose. He appreciated each of them as expressed during this interview.
I feel like they're all special. That's not to say they're all great films. There were a few hiccups, but I always took something with me. Most of the time, it's the film crew. I really love the film crews. I worked with wonderful actors, of course, and it was great, but film crews are a breed apart.
I feel enriched, I really say it, when I am in their company. We become very close. After eight or ten weeks, you leave. I never say goodbye, I always say: “See you later”. -Liam Neeson