Neeson acted in films such as the historical drama Gangs of New York , the romantic comedy Love Actually , the biographical drama Kinsey , the erotic thriller Chloe , the religious drama Silence , the fantasy film A Monster Calls , the crime thriller Widows , the anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs , and the romantic drama Ordinary Love He said that growing up as a Catholic in a predominantly Protestant town made him cautious, [ 13 ] and once said he felt like a "second-class citizen" there, [ 14 ] but has also said he was never made to feel "inferior or even different" at the town's predominantly Protestant technical college.
Irish, yes. But all that nationalistic stuff, crying into your Guinness and singing rebel songsβthat was never my scene. I've known guys and girls who have been perpetrators of violence and victims. Protestants and Catholics. It's part of my DNA. At age nine, Neeson began boxing lessons at the All Saints Youth Club, and went on to win a number of regional titles before quitting at He said, "[Paisley] had a magnificent presence and it was incredible to watch him just Bible-thumping away There was a club trial in Dublin and Neeson played one game as a substitute against Shamrock Rovers FC , but was not offered a contract.
After leaving university, Neeson returned to Ballymena, where he worked in a variety of casual jobs, such as a forklift operator at Guinness and a lorry driver.
In , he joined the Lyric Players Theatre in Belfast , where he performed for two years. He got his first film experience in , playing Jesus Christ and The Evangelist in the religious film Pilgrim's Progress After the role, Neeson moved to London, where he continued working on stage, and in small-budget films and television. He lived with actress Helen Mirren , whom he met working on Excalibur.
Neeson guest-starred in the third season of the television series Miami Vice in , and moved to Hollywood the next year to take higher-profile roles. In , he had a starring role in Sam Raimi 's Darkman. Although the film was successful, Neeson's subsequent years did not bring him the same recognition.
