Liam Neeson says people ‘live vicariously' through his violent movies and love it
The 72-year-old actor who grew up in
Northern Ireland
has played the 'tough guy' role in countless films like
Taken
and The Commuter. He also starred in the
2019 movie Cold Pursuit
where he played Nels Coxman, a quiet snow plow driver who becomes enraged and vengeful when his son is murdered.
In the movie, Neeson's character transforms from an upstanding citizen to a coldblooded vigilante. While doing promo for the movie, Neeson discussed his own relationship to violence, both on and off the big screen.
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The actor discussed how seeing a lot of violence on screen can impact audiences, and responded to accusations that the kind of films he typically stars in, can radicalize people and make them violent.
'I think audience members live to see [that violence on screen],' Neeson told the Independent. 'They can kind of live vicariously through it. People say, 'Yeah but violence in films makes people want to go out and kill people.' I don't believe that at all.'
Liam Neeson's best known role is probably in the Taken franchise
(Image: film still)
'I think the average moviegoer thinks, 'Yeah, punch him. Punch him,'' Neeson continued. 'And they get a satisfaction out of seeing somebody else enact it, and they leave the theatre and they feel satiated in some way.'
Neeson previously admitted that he drew on the experiences he had,
growing up 'surrounded by violence'
in the north. He was one of four children in a Catholic family in Ballymena,
Co Antrim
.
Though he rarely speaks about it, he has shared snippets of his turbulent teenage years, where he admitted that his friends were caught up in the sectarian violence,
some even dying in the 1981 Hunger Strike.
Neeson isn't done with violent films anytime soon, though he admitted that he knows
his days as an action man are numbered.
'Audiences are innately intelligent and they'll know when you're past your prime in regards to throwing punches and firing guns, but I'm not there yet,' he told the Hollywood Reporter.
When the time does come, Neeson doesn't need to worry about what film genre he'll delve into next. Fans hail his historical dramas as some of his best work, including his depiction of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins, and 1993 war film, Schindler's List.
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Irish Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Oasis Croke Park: Explained - The deep Irish heritage of Liam and Noel Gallagher
Oasis are set to hit the stage in Dublin's Croke Park on August 16 and 17 in front of an excited sold-out crowd on both nights. Ahead of the gigs, their deep Irish roots, shaped by summers in Mayo and Meath and lifelong family bonds, have been explored by Irish Heritage, who traced back the Gallagher brothers' deep Irish genealogy. Born in Manchester to Irish Catholic working-class parents, the Gallagher brothers are the sons of Margaret 'Peggy' Sweeney from Charlestown, Co. Mayo and Thomas 'Tommy' Gallagher from Duleek, Co. Meath. In the early 1960s, Peggy Sweeney and Tommy Gallagher were among thousands of Irish emigrants who moved to Manchester, drawn by a boom in the city's construction industry. Liam Gallagher and his mother, Peggy The pair met for the first time in Manchester. Peggy and Tommy's first child was Paul, followed by Noel, born on 29 May, 1967 and then William 'Liam' on 21 September, 1972. The Gallagher family lived in a council estate and were part of Manchester's vibrant working-class Irish community. Several of Peggy's sisters and brothers also settled in the same part of Manchester, creating a tight-knit family network. The boys attended Catholic schools and Noel even played Gaelic football in his teenage years. Their marriage was troubled and Tommy left the family when the boys were still young, becoming estranged from his children in later years. Tommy Gallagher, father of Noel and Liam (Image: Matthew Pover) Growing up, Noel and Liam's mother was the central figure in their lives and the strongest influence in shaping their Irish sense of identity. A spokesman for Irish Heritage said: 'All the individuals we researched in Noel and Liam's family tree were Roman Catholic. 'Certain lines on both the maternal and paternal sides of the family can be traced back to the rockstar brothers' great-great-great-grandparents. 'Most of Liam and Noel's ancestors on the maternal side of the family tree were from the Charlestown and Swinford areas of east Mayo. A number of them spoke Irish in addition to English. 'The surname Sweeney, along with its variants MacSweeny, MacSwiney and Swiney, derives from the Irish Mac Suibhne. 'Historically linked with the Scottish Gallowglasses who settled in Co. Donegal, it is now a common name throughout Ireland, particularly in Cork and Kerry.' "William 'Bill' Sweeney was Noel and Liam Gallagher's maternal grandfather. In 1938, he married Margaret O'Brien in Charlestown's parish church in Co. Mayo. At the time, William was living in Ballaghaderreen in Co. Roscommon and working as a labourer. "Together, William and Margaret established their home in the countryside near Charlestown, raising a family of 11 children. "William predeceased his wife. His father, Patrick Sweeney, was a farmer – he was Noel and Liam's great-grandfather. 'Research into this branch of the Gallagher family tree is ongoing.' "Noel and Liam Gallagher's maternal grandmother, Margaret Sweeney née O'Brien, was born on 29 October 1920 in Ballydrum townland, south of Charlestown. Noel Gallagher on stage at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff. Picture date: Friday July 4, 2025 (Image: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire) 'She was a twin and arrived into this world 30 minutes before her younger sister Bridget. 'Their other siblings included Mary (b.1911), Anne (b.1912), Anthony (b.1913), Ellen (b.1915), Catherine (b.1919), Daniel (b.1921) and Frances (b.1923). 'In 1938, at just 17 years old, Margaret married William Sweeney, but the marriage record incorrectly states she was of 'full' age, implying she was 21 years or over. 'She was then living in the townland of Mullenmadoge, between Charlestown and Swinford. "Margaret passed away in 2000, just shy of her 80th birthday, in her 19th-century house in the townland of Sonnagh on the Swinford side of Charlestown.' At the height of their fame, Noel and Liam attended their grandmother's funeral in Charlestown, where they were left alone to mourn in peace, surrounded by family. On the paternal side of the family tree, Noel and Liam's ancestors were primarily based in and around the towns of Duleek and Slane in Co. Meath. In 2007, the Gallagher clan set a Guinness world record in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, for the largest gathering of people with the same surname. Six years' later, organisers in Gortahork, Co. Donegal, invited Noel and Liam Gallagher to another record-breaking attempt. While thousands of Gallaghers showed up, the rockstar brothers didn't attend and Guinness refused to officially recognise the attempt. The Gallagher roots of these global superstars, however, lie in Co. Meath and as kids, Noel and Liam spent many summer holidays in Duleek, their father's hometown. According to Geneastar, their paternal grandfather, William Gallagher, was born in Duleek in 1914. William married Frances Anne 'Annie' McKeown in 1942 in the church of St Michael Kill in Summerhill, Co. Meath. The couple lived in the townland of Downestown, just outside Duleek, where William worked as a labourer and later as a woodworker. But his life was cut short when he died in 1960 at the young age of 45 – before his rockstar grandsons were even born. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
Extra.ie
14 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Ryan Tubridy: Is Pam and Liam's supposed romance any of our business?
I interviewed Liam Neeson a few years ago on The Late Late Show and, as always, it was a most enjoyable conversation that covered his upbringing and extraordinary career. We talked about everything from Schindler's List to Taken and we laughed about how his mother used to sit in the audience of the show on occasion as she loved the buzz of live television. As you can imagine, Liam is easy company and widely admired around the world. I recall how we were posing for a press photograph and we stood there, smiling as per usual, until he said 'right, now let's do Blue Steel' a reference to the Ben Stiller character in Zoolander whose signature pose was ridiculous but very funny. I didn't see that silliness coming but was delighted to know that Liam Neeson had an inner goofball that he kept well-hidden with the odd exception (check out his cameo in the Ricky Gervais show, Extras – it's a masterclass). Ryan Tubridy. Pic: Instagram/Ryan Tubridy Part of the reason people like him is how he handled the death of his wife, Natasha with such dignity. It was a desperate and untimely death from a brain bleed sustained in a skiing accident in 2009. Since then, people have focused on Liam's acting career and tend not to bother him with questions about his personal life. That all changed in the past few weeks as Liam and his latest co-star, Pamela Anderson, have been charming media gatherings the world over as they promote their new movie, The Naked Gun (more on that below). At first, their flirtatious banter and tactile moves were considered cute and very charming but, as the days went by, speculation grew that they might be a couple in real life and everyone started to take more notice. BERLIN, GERMANY – JULY 24: US actress Pamela Anderson and british-irish actor Liam Neeson attend the Berlin premiere of the movie 'The Naked Gun' (German Title: Die Nackte Kanone) at UCI Luxe East Side Gallery on July 24, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Tristar Media/WireImage) Anderson is as famous as Liam. In fact, she's possibly even more well-known than the Irishman. Formerly a Baywatch star, more recently she has become something of a feminist icon as she goes make-up free and chooses eye-catching roles in films like The Last Showgirl. She hasn't had a particularly easy life and the feeling is that here are two people of a certain vintage who have lived full and not always simple lives in the public eye and maybe, just maybe, have now fallen in love. But I really need to pause here for a moment. The truth is that no one knows what the truth is! Are they a couple or just good friends? Is their playful approach to the publicity circuit simply a bit of craic which they both laugh about as they go their separate ways at the end of a long day? And, frankly, is it any of our business? The answer to the last question is a big NO, and yet, here I am writing a column all about this very thing. The reason I'm doing so is that the whole story has brought the world an awful lot of joy. It's cute, charming, heartening, romantic, hopeful and sweet. How many stories can we use those adjectives about in August 2025? Pamela Anderson as Beth and Liam Neeson as Frank in The Naked Gun. Pic: Paramount Pictures There's so much negativity about the place that lots of people simply refuse to watch the news any more. There are those who only watch 'news' that feeds their prejudices but that's for another day. Today I'm talking about the people who find the world a dark and grim place and so when this shining beacon of a yarn comes along, we hang onto it because the world needs a distraction. I have no idea if Liam and Pamela are an 'item' or not but, if they are, I wish them every happiness imaginable, and if they aren't I want to thank them for bringing a splash of colour to the grey skies. As for the film itself, well, The Naked Gun is tremendous. I had forgotten how many awful dad jokes these moves squeezed into 80 gloriously goofy minutes. Growing up, we gorged on the Airplane films, Police Squad and latterly, the Naked Gun trilogy. The late Leslie Nielsen was the ultimate slapstick leading man who took every comedic curveball with the seriousness of a Shakespearian thespian. As a sidebar, I interviewed him once, and before the show we met at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin where he ordered a glass of wine which he not only spilled but also broke the glass. I didn't know where the reality stopped and the comedy ended! LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 22: Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson attend the UK Premiere of 'The Naked Gun' at Cineworld Leicester Square on July 22, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage) Anyway, back to the reboot, and here we have Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr, the son of Leslie Nielsen's character, playing opposite Pamela Anderson as an unimpeachable femme fatale. They both play their roles so straight while cracking unforgivable one-liners – like 'Take a seat, please…' at which point she takes a chair and drags it out of the room as she's leaving. So silly. I loved it and must admit that the off-screen 'maybe romance' story made me want to see the film (and yes, the chemistry is comedy-great). With a running time of just 80 minutes, it's the perfect way to escape from reality and roar laughing at the goofiest film of the year. Keeping it positive for today, I want to mention Tim Minchin and what he said to me when we met recently. By way of reminder/introduction, Tim is an Australian lyricist, comedian and singer who wrote the music and words for Mathilda – The Musical (which, if you're ever in London, you should go and see), as adapted from the book by Roald Dahl. We met once before when he was on the Late Late and we told him that his performance had to be three minutes long. At first, he was bothered by the brevity but then sang a song all about being told he had to do a three-minute song – brilliant. When we met recently, we chatted about the life advice he gave students he addressed on receiving an honorary doctorate. The expression that really struck and stayed with me was that we should all be pro-stuff and not just anti-stuff. It's a simple credo but one that made me think about how I approach certain topics and even people. So I resolved to give it a go, and so far, so pro!
Extra.ie
a day ago
- Extra.ie
I will find you and I will follow you! Liam Neeson's eldest son is a Pam fan as he follows dad's new girlfriend on Instagram
Liam Neeson's eldest son Michael, appears to have given his dad's new relationship with Pamela Anderson the stamp of approval, as he has started following the Baywatch beauty on Instagram Action movie star Liam Neeson, has been quite 'taken' with Hollywood bombshell Pamela Anderson, after they were thrust together on the movie set of the latest 'The Naked Gun' flick. But after the cameras stopped rolling the pairs on-screen chemistry carried on into a real life pulsating rom-com. LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 22: Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson attend the UK Premiere of 'The Naked Gun' at Cineworld Leicester Square on July 22, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage) Opening up on his relationship with Pamela Neeson said he was captivated by more than just her stunningly attractive looks saying, 'l, you know, we had never met before [filming The Naked Gun ], and I remember thinking, 'Wow, she is gorgeous,' but she had this wonderful sense of silliness and just humanity about her,' Neeson said on SiriusXM's Radio Andy with Andy Cohen. 'I don't want to blow her head up, but it was like I just felt an ease with her, you know, and we discovered a silliness with each other, which was terrific, you know?' Pamela Anderson as Beth and Liam Neeson as Frank in The Naked Gun. Pic: Paramount Pictures For her part Pamela said Liam is more than just a hunky action-man as she revealed his more playful side. During the course of the same interview Anderson told host Cohen that she 'was nervous to meet [Neeson], of course, and you're always nervous the first day on the set, and it was just easygoing and very silly, which puts you at ease and very silly, on and off.' Liam Neeson stars as Frank Drebbin Jr in The Naked Gun. Pic: Paramout Pictures Now it seems that the Neeson's sons are giving Pamela a genuine Irish 'Céad Míle Fáilte' into the Neeson family fold, following her on the social media picture-sharing platform. Michael and his brother Daniel are Liam Neeson's two sons from his marriage to British actress Natasha Richardson. Micheál Neeson with his dad Liam in 2015. Pic: David M. Benett/Getty Images for Maison Mais Non Richardson tragically passed away in 2009, aged just 45, as a result of a skiing accident. Pamela is believed to be Liam Neeson's first serious relationship since the death of his beloved ex-wife.
