One phone call from this guy, and you better make sure he can't find you.
You know, cause he'll kill you.
He might be one of the most intimidating action stars in Hollywood.
Unfortunately, that hasn't been able to keep him safe from experiencing an overwhelming
amount of tragedy in his life.
Even after losing the love of his life in a shocking accident, it seems like the universe
was not done dealing Liam Neeson with more painful blows.
The actor has had to face more setbacks in life than anyone would have expected, and
fans can't help but wonder how he's managed to bear a brave face through it all.
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It was back in 2000 when the actor almost lost his own life.
Liam got into a terrible accident after his Harley Davidson motorcycle hit a deer while
traveling home.
The impact was so strong that the actor's body was thrown off the bike and onto the
dirt by the side of the road.
Someone driving past spotted Liam's body and immediately went to go and help him.
The actor was in so much shock from the accident that he wasn't aware of any of his injuries
and asked the person to give him a ride home.
Thankfully, the stranger noticed that Liam was injured and quickly called for an ambulance.
Doctors thought that the actor wasn't going to last the night, but thankfully he was able
to heal from his grave injuries.
Unfortunately, Liam's time in the hospital came with a price.
After he was given morphine to help with his pain, the actor became addicted to the painkiller.
He described the addiction as almost instantaneous, and he knew he would be in trouble after he
left the hospital.
"And then when they give you that drip that you give yourself every six minutes ... I
knew I was hooked because I was counting those fucking drips, the seconds until I could push
that button, and it was instantaneous, that high was," he spoke of his time in hospital.
With help, Liam was able to overcome his addiction and remain sober, but he's been left with
fear for his own children.
He knew that if his children were ever exposed to addictive drugs that they would be at risk
of becoming deathly dependent.
"It's a virus.
A teenager can take it, and suddenly they can be hooked, and it changes their life and
their family's forever.
That's my constant worry."
The actor confessed.
Unfortunately, he had no idea that his worst fears would become all too true.
The single greatest tragedy in Liam Neeson's life occurred in 2009 when a family vacation
turned into a living nightmare.
The actor was busy filming a movie in Toronto, so the rest of his family took the opportunity
to have some fun and stay at a ski resort nearby.
While taking a ski lesson, Liam's wife, Natasha Richardson, was on the hill with an instructor
and nearing the bottom of a beginners' trail when she fell over; she hadn't been wearing
a helmet, so her head banged against the hard-packed snow.
Natasha got up, unphased by the fall, and insisted that she was perfectly okay.
The instructor tried to convince the actress that she should see a doctor and even called
for an ambulance, but she declined the offer.
Even after medical assistance arrived, she sent them back without letting them check
her.
When Natasha arrived back in her hotel room, she called Liam to let her know what had happened
and even joked about it.
"Oh, darling.
I've taken a tumble in the snow.", was what she told her beloved husband.
Sadly, what Liam didn't know was that this was the last time he would hear his wife's
voice.
Just a few hours later, Natasha began to complain of a headache, and an ambulance was sent to
take her to a hospital.
As her condition continued to decline, staff at the hospital realized that they weren't
equipped to help her.
She was then sent to another hospital, but by then, Natasha was quickly running out of
time, and her life was slipping through everyone's fingers.
Liam was called to the hospital, but it was sadly all too late.
Natasha was declared brain dead, and she was being kept alive by a life-support machine.
Neeson recalled the pact he'd once made with his wife, both promising to "pull the plug"
if the other wound up in the exact very same situation that was staring him in the face.
He never thought that he would ever have to do what his wife had asked because he would
never have imagined that she would need it.
He knew that he had to honour his promise.
"And I went into her and told her I loved her.
Said, 'Sweetie, you're not coming back from this.
You've banged your head.
It's – I don't know if you can hear me, but that's – this is what's gone down.
And we're bringing ya back to New York.
All your family and friends will come.'
And that was more or less it."
Liam revealed the last words to his wife.
Liam and his children would forever be plagued by the dreaded question, "What if?".
What if his beloved wife, mother of his children, would have gotten the help that she needed
before it was too late?
The loss of Natasha felt unreal.
For a long time, Liam expected his wife to walk through the front door and tell him that
everything was okay and it was all a bad joke.
The actor managed to find some peace in the loss, admitting that her organs had been donated
and were able to save another three lives.
Liam found some comfort, knowing that even in her death, Natasha was able to save three
people.
After his wife's death, Liam Neeson faced a number of tests on his family, his sobriety,
and even his faith.
In an interview, he revealed that he was "drinking too much" after losing his wife, so he chose
to give it up.
For Neeson, who grew up in a devout Catholic home, losing his wife challenged his faith,
as well.
"Since my wife passed away, do I believe in an afterlife?
I don't know."
He confessed.
Liam Neeson's eldest son, Micheál Neeson, was just 13 years old when his mother died.
Following her sudden and traumatic passing, he experienced a "delayed reaction" to his
mother's death.
He didn't want to feel any of the pain that the loss of his mother had caused; it was
all too much.
So he turned his back on his emotions and chose to block them.
Michael turned to partying to distract him from his pain.
So when he partied, he partied hard.
He got his hands on whatever he could get to numb his pain.
Soon, Micheál saw that "things just started going downhill" and eventually admitted himself
into treatment at a facility in Utah.
He underwent therapy and was finally able to process his mother's death in a healthy
way.
Michael credits his father's work ethic with helping inspire him to turn his life around.
In
late 2018, Micheál paid tribute to his mother by changing his surname from Neeson to Richardson,
a move of which his Oscar-winning grandmother, Vanessa Redgrave, could not have been more
proud.
Vanessa said, "He wanted to hold his mother close to him — because she was a remarkable
actress.
Absolutely remarkable,"
A decade after the tragic passing of Natasha, Liam Neeson was dealt another staggering blow
when his nephew, Ronan Sexton, passed away from injuries sustained in a 20-foot fall.
35-year-old Sexton was enjoying a night out with friends in 2014 when he climbed on top
of a phone box but then lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Sexton was unable to walk or talk on his own after the fall and was being cared for near
his family.
His mother was putting the finishing touches on the house specially modified to meet her
son's needs when he succumbed to his injuries and passed away in 2019.
"The family are very private, and they are very upset; as you can imagine, it's been
devastating for them," a source revealed.
There is no doubt that the actor has had to face an unimaginable amount of pain, but he
has also not been free from controversy.
During an interview in 2019 for the revenge film, Neeson kicked off a major controversy
when he confessed that he once actively sought to inflict violence on others after learning
one of his close friends had been sexually assaulted.
"I asked, did she know who it was?
No.
What color were they?
She said it was a black person.
I went up and down areas with a [club], hoping I'd be approached by somebody — I'm ashamed
to say that"
The actor's racially charged comments immediately went viral and were met with widespread criticism.
"I'm not a racist," Neeson assured.
The star claimed that his words were taken out of context but reiterated that he did
feel a "primal urge to lash out" after hearing about his friend's suffering.
Although following the backlash, it's still not known how fans feel about the actor's
comments.
With all the suffering he's had to endure, Liam has been open about his struggle.
Losing the love of his life and watching his son's downward spiral because of the pain
must have been unbearable.
Despite all the odds, however, they were able to heal.
His family has always been the most important thing to Liam, he's only wanted the best for
his children and those he cares about, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to keep
them safe and happy.
Even if it takes a scary phone call and a threat or two.