Liam Neeson names his favourite actors of all time: “A big hero of mine”
Though he mainly plays grumpy old men with guns these days, it’s important to remember that Liam Neeson can pull out an incredible performance if the occasion calls for it. He blew the world away with his breakout role as Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s Holocaust masterpiece Schindler’s List. Since then, he has wowed in films like Kinsey, A Monster Calls, and Michael Collins. Who else could have brought Aslan the lion to life with such warm authority? Nobody, that’s who.
It’s clear from his output that Neeson grew up on a strong diet of great acting. He has spoken about how Sean Connery influenced his career, but also cited the cowboy movies and TV shows of the 1950s as playing a major role. “I just loved those Western types that were always strong,” he told Slash Film, specifically referencing Clayton Moore, star of the Lone Ranger TV show. “Then the older you get, I just thought, ‘Nah, that’s a bit boring. That’s not what real people are like.’ I think it’s important to show as many aspects as you can.”
When asked for examples of actors who had a good mixture of strength and sensitivity, Neeson had two names in mind. “Burt Lancaster,” he said. “Robert Mitchum did too. I know he did have a quality that was bordered on vulnerability, that made him a great actor, I think. Mitchum was fantastic, a big hero of mine from when I was a teenager. There was just something about him I liked.” He then proceeded to do an impression of Mitchum, which the interviewer thought was absolutely spot on.
A classic star of Hollywood’s golden era, Mitchum had a lengthy career that began in the mid-1930s. He made his name in films like Out of the Past, El Dorado, and the original Cape Fear, which led to a minor role in the Martin Scorsese remake. Though he never won a major award in his career, he included on the American Film Institute’s (AFI) 100 Years… 100 Stars list of classic Hollywood greats. Roger Ebert once called him his favourite actor.
“Even in interviews, he came across as disparaging, I guess, about the craft of acting, but he was wonderful at it,” Neeson said of his idol. “I’ve seen in interviews with him, and there was one he did with the lovely actress from the film, Ten, Bo Derek. Mitchum was on a chat show with her and he’s smoking a cigarette and she’s talking about her daily regimen of how she keeps her shape and her beauty and what she eats, what she doesn’t eat, how many hours she works out, and all this sort of stuff. And Mitchum’s sitting with a cigarette and turns to her and says, ‘Don’t you want to die of something?’”
As for Lancaster, he also rose to fame at a relatively old age, much like Neeson. Following a career in the military and a stint as an acrobat, he was cast in the film noir The Killers, which made him a household name. Over the next four decades, he consistently worked at the highest level, scoring Oscar nominations in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1980s. He also appeared in that AFI list, a full five places higher than Mitchum. Don’t tell Robert. He’ll just get upset.
Both Lancaster and Mitchum balanced their tough guy personas with genuine humanity, which allowed audiences to buy into them as real people. You can see the influence they’ve have on many modern actors’ careers, especially their Northern Irish fanboy.
