And HOW could it POSSIBLY be Friday if it didn’t include my weekly Spotlight post?? Well…I guess it IS still Friday regardless….but gotta at least TRY and toot my own blog horn…just a LITTLE bit anyway. Silliness aside, this week I am continuing by covering another veteran to the Hollywood arena, an actor who has actually reinvented himself in his 50’s and, now, early 60’s! You’re curiosity is just KILLING you….well, maybe not…BUT….I give you Northern Ireland’s son, Liam Neeson.
I feel in one sense that I could start this Spotlight by asking “what HASN’T this guy been in?!”. So as usual, let’s understand I will be highlighting the projects I have seen him in. In the span of a career that is now hitting the 36-year mark and includes a total of 99 acting credits (a fun fact brought to you courtesy of my favorite source for info, IMDb), Liam Neeson is truly an actor’s actor. With his first acting credit playing Pilgrim in “Pilgrim’s Progress” in 1978, I realized in looking up this information that my FIRST exposure to him was ALL the way back in…..oh boy…..1983’s fantasy film, “Krull“! And yet, I cannot remember enough about the character he played to accurately comment, so I would move on to the next time I saw him, which was on my FAVORITE 80’s TV show, “Miami Vice“, where he played an IRA member who also falls for Sandra Santiago‘s Detective Gina Calabrese in the episode “When Irish Eyes Are Crying“. Even back then, Neeson could deliver a character who was both tough, yet also had a heart. The late 80’s brought us to 1988’s Clint Eastwood-lead Dirty Harry film, “The Dead Pool” where Neeson played a slimy video director with a nasty habit of playing deadly games with his film crews, and hence drawing the attention of everyone’s favorite tough-guy cop. 1989 saw Neeson playing a backwoods man and brother of the lead character out for vengeance in the Patrick Swayze-lead “Next of Kin“. Again, I do recall Neeson’s stature alone makes him intimidating regardless of what side of the law his characters are on!
Now onto the 90’s, where I did not actually catch Neeson again until 1993’s VERY powerful, Steven Spielberg-directed Holocaust drama, “Schindler’s List“, where Neeson just NAILED it as German businessman Oskar Schindler, who was instrumental in using his business prowess and influence to save the lives of 1100 Jews who worked for him in his factories, after realizing the fate the Nazis had in store for them. An AMAZING performance to watch Neeson deliver, as he truly makes you feel every bit of what is being shown on screen. Then Neeson was in 1994’s “Nell“, playing a small town doctor who becomes involved in the story of a young woman found living in the woods (played amazingly by Jodie Foster) and trying to help her enter the real world, but also learning about the nature of someone who’s been isolated from the modern world’s craziness. While known films “Rob Roy” and “Michael Collins” were out in 1995 and 1996, I next saw Neeson as Jean Valjean in the 1998 dramatic, non-musical version of the timeless Broadway musical, “Les Miserables“. Neeson did a fine job, but I was not overly fond of the film, being a HUGE fan of the musical version on stage. Then Neeson got some even more serious exposure playing a Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, in 1999’s “Star Wars” prequel, “The Phantom Menace“. I would be lying if I didn’t say that I LOVED Neeson as a Jedi. His sense of playing the character as both hardened by training and time, but also compassionate, really brought some much-needed, well-grounded acting to the film. I did also see him in 1999’s remake of “The Haunting“, but that films was a stinker, so we move on.
Now into the 2000’s, Neeson took on the role of a Russian submarine Captain in 2002’s “K-19: The Widowmaker” alongside megastar Harrison Ford, which was based on the true story of the maiden voyage of a Russian nuclear submarine and the malfunction it experiences that not only endangers the crew, but potentially could start a war. Again, sadly, I do not recall enough about Neeson’s role to comment. The next of Neeson’s films I saw wasn’t until 2005’s Ridley Scott epic, “Kingdom of Heaven“, in which he appeared as a knight of the Crusade who is also the father of the film’s hero, Balian (played by Orlando Bloom). It was another opportunity for Neeson to flex the historical tough guy role, which as always, he handled more than adequately. Then came 2005’s BIG film, “Batman Begins“, where Neeson took the role of Ducard, a Master martial arts trainer who takes Bruce Wayne under his wing and trains him to be a warrior. I mean, can Neeson NOT play this type of role well?? He chews up scenes in the small part he played in “Begins”, and even that to me shows the caliber of his acting. Also in 2005 was his VOICE….as the Lion Aslan for “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe“. Even as an ANIMATED character, Neeson’s presence could not be ignored, and his voice gave Aslan the quiet, regal, but powerful resolve he needed (as he would do Aslan’s voice for the two sequels as well in 2008 and 2010). The 2006 Western, “Seraphim Falls” was up next, playing Carver, a Civil War colonel out for vengeance against one who had wronged him, played by Pierce Brosnan. Again, solid stuff. But, it was 2008’s unexpected action thriller “Taken” that suddenly put Neeson back on the Hollywood map like no one would have thought, and his deeply powerful portrayal of Bryan Mills, an ex-government agent forced back into some serious action when his daughter is kidnapped overseas, just gave us a WHOLE new kind of action hero to root for. The CONVICTION in that character was SO intense, you JUST could not wait for the guy to pummel, shoot, blow up, and otherwise destroy the men responsible (who honestly, DID have it coming…BIG time).
With that newly found success under his belt, Neeson took on several more action-oriented roles in 2010, including the remakes of “Clash of the Titans” (HORRIBLE film, for me anyway…SUCH a letdown), and “The A-Team” (I LOVED this film, but no one else did, unfortunately. Was really hoping for a sequel). He also had a small part on the Russell Crowe thriller, “The Next Three Days“. 2011 saw “The Grey“, a very dark, brooding film about the fight to survive by a group of oil workers in Alaska after a plane crash as they are hunted by a pack of wolves. Neeson was INTENSE in a whole different way, and his performance stood out in it for all the film’s somber tone. The 2012 year saw Neeson REALLY showing up, in no less than four major films: “Wrath of the Titans” (MUCH better film, peeps), “Battleship” (fun, but overall forgettable), a brief appearance in the SPECTACULAR “The Dark Knight Rises“, and back as Bryan Mills in “Taken 2” (did NOT live up to the first one by far, but Liam did fine). A very fun, but brief cameo, in 2013’s “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” was then followed this year with the plane thriller “Non-Stop” where he plays an Air Marshall stuck in a less than envious situation (but hey, it’s Liam doing what Liam does best…elevating the film and kicking butt), and then a HILARIOUS voiceover in the animated hit, “The LEGO Movie“, playing Bad Cop/Good Cop, which alone was worth the price of admission for me. With no less than 6 more projects in various stages of production on his plate, including a 3rd run as Mr. Mills for “Taken 3“, it’s more than evident that Neeson has NO current plans to slow down in his career, and frankly, I feel we are all the better for it. He is truly one to watch.
As always, this is all for YOUR consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
