Liam Neeson and his sons, Micheál and Daniel, have been on a journey together. After the family lost wife and mother Natasha Richardson in 2009, they didn't really know how to move forward. In the intervening years, Liam has given numerous interviews in which he has discussed the overwhelming feelings of loss and confusion that he and his sons have weathered.
In 2014, Liam told Anderson Cooper that Natasha's death still didn't feel real to him, even after five years. "(Her death) was never real. It still kind of isn't. I was told she was brain dead. I'm seeing this X-ray, it was like, 'Wow.' I just told her I loved her, and said, 'Sweetie, you're not coming back from this. You banged your head. It's … I don't know if you can hear me, but it's … this is what's gone down. We're bringing you back to New York, and your family and friends will come.'"
Natasha died on March 18, two days after she had a skiing accident that caused a traumatic brain injury.
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Liam and Natasha's sons have also deeply felt the loss of their mother. Micheál was only 13 years old when Natasha died. This year, the actor has begun to open up about what that loss has been like, and in 2018 he even decided to change his last name to Richardson as a nod to his mom.
Liam explained the choice in an interview with Andy Cohen.
"I think he did the right thing. I think it was a lovely homage, a nice gesture, and he's, you know, not saddled with my last name which, I have a certain celebrity status I guess."
Liam also said that the choice to change his name meant a lot to Micheál's aunts, Natasha's sisters.
"I'd hate for him to be constantly asked, 'Oh, are you Liam Neeson's son?' So, it was a lovely gesture. Natasha's family, mother, and sisters were very touched by it, as indeed I was too."
Liam and Micheál also recently co-starred in Made in Italy, a film about a father and son who are navigating the loss of their wife and mom, respectively, and who are tasked with trying to sell the estate she left behind. Obviously, there were plenty of parallels to what the two have experienced together.
Andy asked Liam about Micheál's acting chops, and the proud dad was only too happy to praise his son, but in a cautious, realistic way.
"I'm not gonna blow smoke up him, up his anus around him, but he does have a presence. Micheál, he really does."
Liam added that the subject matter of the film definitely leant itself to a lot of emotive acting. "And the subject matter is very close to home. Losing my wife, Micheál losing his mother, that is part of the story of Made in Italy. It was quite cathartic in many ways for both of us."
Andy also asked if the real-life parallels to their journey made the experience painful for the pair.
"It did and it didn't. When I first read it, I literally got as if someone had just grabbed my gut and just twisted it, and it was quite scary."
"It really made my gut turn because it was so, as you say, it touched on something Micheál and I have both gone through, still going through 11 years after Natasha has died. And I thought, gosh, this would be fantastic if I could do it with Micheál."
Other young actors were suggested for the role that Micheál ultimately won, but Liam was the one who offered the script to his son.
Liam says that he hoped the experience would be one they would cherish working on together.
"He sort of looked at me after he read it. I looked at him and I said, 'Look, what do you think, do you want to, should we should we try and go through this together and see what happens?' And he agreed."
In a way, working on the film gave Liam and Micheál the opportunity to process their shared trauma in a very safe space, which is something a lot of people don't get to experience.
"It touches on very, very delicate stuff. Sometimes in art, you can explore stuff and it's kind of safe, especially with a film. It was great. It was cathartic in lots of ways. It really was."
