NEESON. Manly presence.
One of my favorite actors is Liam Neeson, the tall and impressive Irish actor who starred in Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List.” I saw him recently in the action-packed “Taken 2.”
Like Bruce Willis, Liam is an unlikely action hero who has parlayed his manly presence into big box-office bucks. In Spielberg’s Oscar-winning period film, he portrayed a European who helped Jews escape Nazi persecution during the holocaust—and I’ve liked him ever since!
When I watched Roland Joffe’s 1986 classic, “The Mission,” I was surprised to see Neeson portraying an eager, young missionary in a tribal village. Even then, he held his own alongside lead actors, Jeremy Irons and Robert de Niro.
Ungallant statement
I only got disappointed in him when he said something derogatory about Filipina domestic workers before the 1992 Academy Awards, which drove Ninotchka Rosca to write a letter dissing him for his ungallant statement. He quickly apologized for the faux pas.
I was rather taken aback by the action scenes in “Taken 2.” Neeson engaged in physical combat with martial artists and athletes, and did very well. He’s a large man with the sensitivity of an artist. He is the widower of Vanessa Redgrave’s daughter, Natasha Richardson.
He isn’t Hollywood-handsome. Certainly, he’s not as good-looking as Gregory Peck, Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando or Paul Newman. But, like Richard Burton and Nicolas Cage, Neeson is appealing—and the “Taken” film franchise has turned him into an action star and box-office sensation!