Liam Neeson: Full of Surprises

Liam Neeson has appeared in more than 190 film and television productions. He shot to worldwide fame with Schindler’s List, showed his softer side in romances such as Love Actually, and most recently appeared in the comedy remake of The Naked Gun. But what he does especially well is play the avenging angel in action thrillers – as he did in Taken back in 2008. “I’m a child of violence,” he once said about himself. He was referring, of course, to being born in Northern Ireland and witnessing the political unrest of the 1960s and 1970s firsthand. As a young man Neeson also boxed professionally, which, incidentally, once left him with a broken nose.

Mr. Neeson, you’ve been in the film business for a long time now, have worked in virtually every genre as an actor, and have faced a lot of very different situations in your movies. What would you say truly matters in real life?

Everything matters. There are so many clichés out there about living in the moment, not worrying about tomorrow, not worrying about yesterday, just thinking about today. And that’s what I try to do every day. Maybe it has to do with my age. I once read something by the thirteenth-century mystic Rumi. He said silence is the language of God, and everything else is pure translation. That really resonates with me, in lots of ways, not least because it means listening to other people. Not jumping in with your own point of view, but taking the time to listen, no matter what. That doesn’t mean you can’t ever be confrontational, just that you should be silent and listen first. I try and practice that.

And that works?

Well . . . I try. It’s daily practice to pay a person respect when they are speaking to you, to look them in the eye and listen to them. It can be anywhere. I concentrate on that when I’m working with a director, for example, if I’m not delivering a part of a scene the way they want then it’s very important to listen to them.

You grew up in a Catholic household. Do you think believe in salvation?

There is salvation – though I’m not sure if I would use that word. You feel good when you do something that helps your fellow man. It doesn’t matter how small it is, just a tiny little gesture can really matter. It can be as simple as smiling at a stranger or opening a door for someone who has their hands full because they’re carrying something.

Do you hold on to your Catholic faith? 

I am very lapsed. I have to admit it. But faith never leaves you entirely. I like to think that I have become more spiritual, but certainly less religious. 

Religion can be ideology and hurt people . . . 

Yes. 

Have you ever been in a life-or-death situation in your own life? 

I was in a very bad motorbike accident in 2000. That was twenty-five years ago, and it was very much life or death. But because I was physically very fit, I was able to pull through. I was riding along very slowly, when a deer came running out of the side of the road, totally unexpectedly, and started climbing over the motorbike. It was a small country road, and I veered to the side of the road because I thought there was a flat grassy area there, but it was a sloping embankment. It was in the summertime, in July, and the bike and the deer and myself went down this embankment and (...)

→ Read the entire interview in rampstyle #36 »Beyond the Sea«!