American audiences first noticed Neeson as the
mute homeless man on trial for murder opposite
Cher in Suspect and as Diane Keaton's hapless
lover in The Good Mother. Best known for his astonishing
performances in Schindler's List, and Neil Jordan's
Michael Collins, Neeson's other films include
Nell opposite Jody Foster, Ethan Frome opposite
Patricia Arquette and Joan Allen, Woody Allen's
Husbands and Wives, Rob Roy opposite Jessica Lange
and the adventure thriller, Darkman.
Neeson is one of the few actors who can bounce
from the big screen to Broadway and his 1993 appearance
in "Anna Christie" garnered him a Tony Award nomination
and a happy marriage to his then co-star, Natasha
Richardson. Later, this summer he'll appear in
The Haunting and Gun Shy with Sandra Bullock.
The
Interview
Are you really going to give up acting? You
know what it was? Just a vomit of anger after
I'd been on Broadway, done two movies back-to-back,
missing my family, and dear sweet Jeannie Williams
[USA Today] was there, so I just let it out.
Do you plan to take a break? I do want
to go fly-fishing. Fly-fishing is never boring.
I make my own flies and I've designed this one
called Qui-Gon, you know? It's the number 22 line,
so tiny. It's the Jedi master of dry flies.
What do you love about fishing? And, where
do you like to go? I still love a twenty-inch
brine trout. I want to be on the river. Where?
I'd rather not say. I was out on the river two
weeks ago and I hear crackle, crash-uh, oh, somebody's
coming. Maybe it's another fisherman. It was a
young guy and he says, "Hi! This is my girlfriend.
She wants to meet you." And I just wanted to-but
they were so sweet. They were like sixteen years
of age, you know. But if there were any fish there,
they went.
Are you surprised at the enormous interest
in Star Wars? The level of interest has taken
me by surprise. It was big in Belfast, Ireland
when it came out, but it was like, 'good movie.'
But here . . .
Did it upset you when you learned the fate
of Qui-Gon? I'm not going to die! I'm a Jedi
Master. I want to be able to open supermarkets
in the next ten years.
Would you do that? No, because I'd be
dead. I'll tell you what I would like. I found
out that John Wayne's grave says, 'John Wayne,
American.' I'm not comparing myself to John Wayne,
but I'd like for mine to say, 'Liam Neeson, Actor.'
That would be okay.
Did you pick your light saver first? No,
apparently Ewan [McGregor] got the first pick
because he was working before me. Not because
he's younger-or Scottish. I did get to pick from
this wonderful velvet-lined box that George had
obviously requested to be made. And he said, and
I quote, "Pick your light saber." It was a big
moment.
Were there a variety of styles? I remember
there were some of them that had various little
curves and nuts and bolts taken out. I remember
thinking that we had lots of fighting to do with
these, and I have a feeling that could be a problem,
so I went down the line and picked the smoothest
one.
Who had the biggest? Darth Maul-his was
bigger.
What was the toughest thing about the shot?
Working with Jar Jar and all those weird creatures,
in that heat, I'm wearing a wig and hair. And
the resin glue that they use, I mean, it immediately
crystallizes and becomes white, the color of this
tablecloth. It becomes like talcum power, and
very, very visible. So my makeup lady, I'm saying
to her, "C'mon, c'mon, touch this up." She'd always
do it, but she said, "Liam, you could be a monkey
smoking a pipe. When this film comes out, no one's
going to be looking at you. See that empty space
there? That's where they're going to be looking."
How many times did you see the film?
I have to see it again. I've only seen it once.
Sebulba, he was pretty good.
So, what did you think after all your hard work?
Seeing the film, the only thing I can kind of
liken it to - it's like when you're hungry and
somebody brings you in a beautiful platter of
all your favorite foods. And as you're deciding,
you reach for the French fries, and then the table
is taken away from you. It's just-there's such
a feast of stuff that I can't take it all in.
From looking at yourself and equating how you're
doing as an actor, to trying to follow the story,
with an audience with kids there and stuff, I
couldn't get my thoughts on it all together.
Did you get an action figure? They sent
me one action figure of me. It looks kinda like
somebody down in the East Village, during Mardi
Gras. I could tell it was made in Korea or China,
because they always make Westerners' eyes like
saucers. It's always a giveaway.
Are you going to take your kids to see the
movie? In a few years.
Was your character originally meant to be
older? George had originally seen my guy to
be about sixty. But obviously with so much light
saber work, it would have been a wee bit ridiculous
to have a sixty-year-old actor doing it. Given
that they are Jedi masters, maybe, but still,
I think it would have been something of a push
to see a sixty-year-old doing all these fights.
So there was a compromise made between my age
then, which was forty-four, to make him a little
bit older, some gray in the hair, but not much
older than that.
What was it like when you had to say 'May
the Force be with you?' I took it very seriously.
I wasn't aware that it was there [in the script]
until the day we did it. It was Ahmed [Best],
actually, who said, "Hey man, you're going to
say that line."
What is the phantom menace in your life?
I'd want to say something absolutely philosophical
like ignorance. Racism.
Have you encountered any weirdness from Star
Wars fans? No, I haven't encountered them
yet.
Would you attend a Star Wars convention?
Do you really think I'm going to be at science-fiction
conventions? If I'm on a slippery slope at the
speed of light, I will never be at a 'Star Wars'
convention! But, I mean one should never say never,
right?
So, you're not fond of the genre? It wasn't
because of the genre. With me it's always script,
the quality of the writing, the storytelling ability.
What drew you to Star Wars? To be honest,
the big calling card for me was working with George
Lucas. I've been a fan since American Graffiti.
It was that, and then number two 'Star Wars.'
[The Empire Strikes Back.] But it was to work
with George Lucas.
Could you talk about The Haunting and other upcoming
projects? No. I'm not talkin' about it.
Are you returning to Broadway? Nothing
definite. But, maybe Eugene O'Neill. One of his
plays again.
Would you work with Nastasha [Richardson]
again? Oh yeah, sure. We have a project that's
called 'Asylum,' by Patrick McGrath. That's being
developed with Patrick Marber, who wrote the play
'Closer.' He's working on the script. Mace Neufield,
who's a wonderful old-time producer, is working
on it with us.
Do you have a favorite movie? There's
'Schindler's List,' and then there's everything
else. Except 'Michael Collins,' of course. The
rest are movies.
Do you have any ambitions other than acting?
Produce, maybe. I don't have the wherewithal to
be a director-nor the interest.
