Liam Neeson is one of the world's biggest movie stars, and now his two sons, Michéal
Richardson and Daniel Neeson, are all grown up. Let's get to know more about these two
and what they've been doing with their lives.
When Liam Neeson's sons were just 13 and 12 years old, their mother, Natasha Richardson,
died. Naturally, the boys took their mother's death quite hard. But, according to an interview
Michéal Richardson did with The Belfast Telegraph, some of their parents' famous friends, including
Bono from the band U2, were incredibly supportive in their grief.
"He was like saying, you know, 'I lost my mom at this age and I'm doing okay, and you
will do okay too,' you know?"
The brothers' grandmother, Vanessa Redgrave, also stepped up to help care for them.
As per an interview with The Belfast Telegraph, Richardson did seem to have more trouble coping
with his mother's death than his brother. He revealed:
"I was putting [socializing] with my friends as my top priority. Rock bottom was when I
chose to miss classes to meet up with them, as well as not realizing that family and work
come first."
Luckily, the young man got his life back on track after spending a month at a therapy
camp in the wilds of Utah.
Though Liam Neeson's sons are all grown up now, they still love spending time with their
dear old dad. One of their favorite family pastimes, it seems, is taking in sporting
events. And, luckily for Michéal Richardson and Daniel Neeson, their father can afford
some of the best seats for some of the best games. The trio has taken in several hockey
games in New York. The sons are also known to have one-on-one time with their father
at games.
The threesome apparently don't limit their love of sports to just hockey. They seem to
take in whatever game they can, like a game between the New York Knicks and the Miami
Heat at Madison Square Garden, per the Daily Mail.
Daniel Neeson seemed to be following in his father's footsteps when he studied theater
in college, according to the New York Post. Though he graduated from Tulane University
in 2019, Neeson never acted. Instead, as he told the New York Post, he's using his acting
skills to sell his ideas.
"You have an idea […] and then you present it. And when you present it, you [make sure
it] relates to people."
What's this big idea? It's a sustainable clothing company that has a focus on helping the environment.
He told The New York Post:
"We want to be a part of [the environmental] battle. I think it's about building a community
[…] and giving back."
Neeson also told the publication that he's glad he isn't an actor, and he thinks his
mom would be, too. He explained:
"She was always about 'don't ever feel like you have to be forced down a tunnel to fit
in. Do what you want to do, but do it to your best and be generous with it.'"
According to the New York Post, Daniel has always been passionate about protecting the
planet. He recalled a moment when he was in fifth grade, saying that a lesson about global
warming sent him into a panic attack, saying:
"It really struck me. I've always been in tune with the environmental crisis [since
then]."
This passion inspired him to start his own environmentally-friendly clothing line while
he was still in school at Tulane University. The line, Pine Outfitters, plants one tree
for every product sold. As he told WWD, he would often sit in class and doodle. His sketches
grew to include clothing, such as joggers and sweaters, that ended up in the Pine Outfitters
line.
No matter how much it expands, though, Pine Outfitters will always come back to its original
goal. Neeson told WWD:
"I'm excited to not only promote our clothing, but to promote our mission, which is to help
embrace the wild side and help promote environmental awareness."
And dad Liam Neeson is a fan of his son's work. In fact, you can see Liam sporting one
of Daniel's hats in his 2021 film "The Marksman."
Though Daniel decided to use his acting training for different purposes, that doesn't mean
he was never a performer. The youngest Neeson boy did perform — as a DJ. Back in 2017,
Neeson and two of his friends started a DJing music group called Recess Club that, as per
the group's Instagram account, focused on house music.
Even though, as of early 2021, the group had only made 22 Instagram posts and scored only
82 followers, they did manage to book several gigs. Though Recess Club did have a number
of gigs in New York City, like one at the Rumpus Room, it does appear that they've since
packed up their turntables and headphones. Their Instagram account hasn't had a new post
since January of 2018, and their SoundCloud page hasn't been updated in years.
That may be because Daniel is simply too busy. He recently teamed up with a former Tulane
University classmate to launch De-Nada Tequila, a brand born of their desires to craft the,
quote, "perfect" tequila.
Daniel isn't just successful in business; he's also successful in love. The young entrepreneur
has a long-term girlfriend named Natalie Ackerman. According to the New York Post, Ackerman and
Neeson started dating when they were both sophomores at Tulane University in Louisiana,
and their meet-cute was truly cute: They exchanged phone numbers and found that they were just
one digit apart. Adorable.
Ackerman seems to be quite lucky, too: The marketing professional scored quite the win
when she started dating Neeson. Not only does he shower her with loving Instagram posts,
but he also brings her along on incredible getaways.
If Michéal Richardson is Liam Neeson's son, why is his last name "Richardson"? The reason
is truly touching. According to an interview his grandmother, Vanessa Redgrave, did with
the Daily Mail, Michéal took the name Richardson to honor his mother, the actress Natasha Richardson.
Redgrave told the Daily Mail:
"That wasn't because he wanted to avoid his father's fame, which is enormous. He wanted
to hold his mother close to him."
Redgrave was also very supportive of her grandson's choice to take his mother's name, but how
does Neeson feel about his son not having his name? He's proud. The actor told Radio
Andy:
"I think he did the right thing. [...] 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."
"I'm a very proud parent."
According to an interview with the Evening Standard, the time Michéal Richardson spent
at a wilderness therapy camp in Utah after his mother's passing didn't just help him
turn his life around — it also gave him new direction. Upon leaving the camp, the
then-teen decided to move to London, where he landed an internship with a tailor on Savile
Row. The young man said about his time as an intern.
"I learned about what dedication means and the many months spent making just one bespoke
suit."
The internship apparently also gave him inspiration, as he followed it up by opening his own fashion
gallery in 2015.
But why did he pursue that internship in the first place? Richardson revealed to the Evening
Standard:
"Fashion was something I never went after before, but it's so important, as it shows
who you are. Back in New York, I didn't have a good reputation for fashion ... I'd be called
a hipster for just wearing a couple of chains. One thing my Mum taught me was to dress how
you feel, dress how you want."
Many men would be proud and honored if their sons followed in their career footsteps, but
not Liam Neeson. The Irish actor wanted his oldest son to pursue literally any career
but acting. For a while, Richardson took his dad's advice. He worked in fashion for a few
years through several internships and his own fashion art gallery in London. However,
he couldn't stay away from the family business forever. As he explained:
"My inner actor is in there somewhere, it's lingering in the shadows."
This "inner actor" came out of the shadows when Richardson began taking acting work.
And it looks like Richardson has the pedigree and the talent to back it up, especially since
he's landed multiple roles. According to his IMDb page, the young actor has appeared in
movies like Vox Lux and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. He also took on a large role in
the TV show Big Dogs, which saw him as a major player in all eight episodes.
Luckily for Liam Neeson and Michéal Richardson fans, the father-son duo have also starred
in two movies together: Cold Pursuit and Made in Italy. In Cold Pursuit, an off-kilter thriller
about a father who goes on a revenge binge after his son is killed, Neeson plays the
dad, and Richardson plays the son. Neeson told IANS:
"We didn't have to pretend to have a relationship. Michéal is my son [...] so I think that comes
across. It was a no-brainer with regard to acting with him. It was just having a regular
conversation with your boy."
Made in Italy also has Neeson and Richardson playing father and son. This film tells the
tale of Robert and his estranged son, Jack, who have to go to Italy to sell Jack's mother's
villa after she dies. Obviously, Made in Italy hit close to home for Neeson and Richardson,
as Richardson's mother died when he was a teen. But, as Neeson told Radio Andy, the
experience was, quote, "cathartic" for them.
"At least the view's quite good.”
“That's what you're calling one of the most spectacular convergences of nature ever."
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