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Liam Neeson was born in a small town in Northern Ireland in 1952 and took up boxing at the age of nine. After becoming the Youth Heavyweight Champion of Ireland at 16, he quit and joined a local amateur dramatic society. Whilst acting in Dublin, Neeson was spotted by John Boorman who gave him the part of Sir Gawain in the cult movie Excalibur. After working on a series of small movies, Neeson took his chance in Hollywood in 1987 in the film Suspect in which he played a deaf-mute. Then came Sam Raimi's Darkman, before Neeson grew disillusioned with a series of parts in limited films. However, his work in the play Anna Christie in 1993 brought him to the attention of Steven Spielberg, who cast him as the lead in his classic Schindler's List. Neeson won wide acclaim for the role and followed it with great performances in Rob Roy, Michael Collins and probably the only great performance in Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace, as the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn.
