We thought we knew everything about who dated who in Hollywood. Then we found out about Helen
Mirren and Liam Neeson's whirlwind romance. The former couple was together for four years and
even lived together. Liam was head over heels in love with Helena, and she was just as smitten.
But what happened that caused the couple to part ways after all their time together?
Get comfortable, Juicers, because, in this video, we're going to turn back the clock and take a look
at Helen Mirren and Liam Neeson's love story and why their love couldn't stand the test of time.
Long before the era of social media and the internet, these two legendary actors gave
Hollywood one of its most intriguing love stories. Twenty-nine-year-old Liam and thirty-six-year-old
Helen met on the set of the King Arthur fantasy feature "Excalibur" in 1981. It was there they
fell in love, or at least, it was there Neeson fell in love with the young and beautiful Helen.
Liam recounted the exact moment he fell for Mirren. She was walking toward him
in her full Morgana Le Fey costume, and as soon as he saw her, he was smitten.
But that wasn't the first time he saw her. In fact,
he first laid eyes on the actress when she performed on stage as Lady Macbeth.
"She was so sexy. I thought, 'Gosh, that's Helen Mirren'! She was as beautiful up close
as on stage. Just so human. I was in love with this extraordinary human being," Liam gushed.
So when he saw her on set for their film 'Excalibur,' his reaction was just the same.
Neeson confessed, "Oh fuck," adding, "I was smitten. I fell in love with Helen Mirren.
Oh my God. Can you imagine riding horses in shiny suits of armor, having sword fights and stuff,
and you're falling in love with Helen Mirren? It doesn't get any better than that." -
We can't help but agree with him here. It sounds like the beginning of an epic
romance. As it turned out, that's exactly what it was. Liam knew his feelings for Helen were
growing as they continued to work together, and soon he found that she felt the same way.
At the time, it was said that if Mirren had a crush on a guy,
she would imitate his walk behind his back. When Liam turned around one day on set,
he caught her doing exactly just that, and so he knew—Helen Mirren liked him.
The pair immediately started dating, and as time went on, they both fell deeply in love
with each other. They eventually also moved in together, just so that they didn't have to
be apart for too long. The couple loved going on adventures together, taking road trips, and
even going camping. In fact, Helen even admitted that she was the one who taught Liam how to drive!
One of their camping trips is a story that Helen has shared a few times,
so it's clearly one of her favorite memories of their time together.
"We get down there, and we were camping in this tiny tent, all 6'4 of Liam and me,
and we camp in this field, not like this official camping site with electricity
and loos and showers, none of that, just literally a field, and it pissed with rain nonstop."
But having fun and camping in small tents was not the only thing the couple did together.
Mirren, an already established actress at the time, made sure to help Neeson grow in
his career. She took him under her wings, encouraged and helped him get an agent,
which in turn proved to be extremely helpful for Liam's upcoming career.
Unfortunately, despite all of Helen's help, Liam battled to land enough acting jobs.
As her career took off and her fame grew, Neeson soon started to feel like he was falling behind.
He felt uncomfortable being in her shadow as she became more popular,
and he was still labeled as "the struggling actor."
It didn't take long for Helen to understand that Liam needed to fight for his career on his own
and not have to rely on her fame for his own recognition. So, after nearly five years of being
in love and sharing all of their blissful memories together, the couple decided to part ways.
Speaking about their split, Mirren noted that it was difficult for her
and Neeson to let go because of the love they had for each other.
Yet, she credited the actor for handling their separation with complete grace and elegance.
"It was difficult for him to be under my shadow," Mirren told The New York Times Magazine in 1994.
Despite the reasons for their breakup, Liam is aware of the fact that Helen helped him
grow in his career. Neeson credits Mirren for helping jumpstart his impressive acting resume.
Neeson revealed in an interview that Mirren was instrumental in landing him an agent
and shaping the trajectory of his career.
So, not only did she teach him how to drive, but she also gave him the boost that he
needed to get his acting on the right path. He was grateful for the fact that she believed in him,
and Helen knew that all he needed was a little guidance.
Today, decades after the difficult breakup, Neeson and Mirren have no bad blood between
them and have seemingly developed a good friendship over the years.
In fact, it's clear that the pair had remained good friends when they sat on
the same couch together during a Graham Norton interview, 30 years after they had broken up.
When host Graham asked Helen about the pair's relationship,
she didn't shy away from referring to herself as "lucky" for previously dating Liam.
She gushed, "We didn't date; we lived together for four years.
We were a serious item for a while. Lucky me!"
When Liam shared on the show the moment he knew he had feelings for Helen
was when he saw her in her costume on Excalibur, Helen swiftly responded:
"I never knew that. You've never told me that before; it's amazing."
On the other hand,
the former couple remained tight-lipped about the reasons behind their breakup,
but it appeared the stars ended on good terms as they relaxed and joked together on the show.
Following the end of their exciting relationship, Neeson and Mirren soon found love with other
people in Hollywood. In 1997, Mirren tied the knot with director Taylor Hackford. But despite
her blissful union, marriage was not always in the books for the actress. In fact, in an interview,
Helen admitted that she never believed in the idea of marriage … that is until she met Taylor.
She and Taylor were together for ten years before she eventually gave in to officially
getting married. Helen explained that they got married mostly for legal reasons and,
of course, because it was something their families both wanted anyway.
"We got married in the end because we realized that we were going to be together forever."
The actress spoke out about how she prioritized their marriage,
and 25 years later, she and Taylor are still going strong.
Helen insisted that she stopped choosing her career over love when she met the actor.
She explained, "I did very consciously choose my work over my relationships right up to the
time that I met Taylor. I was 38 when I met Taylor, pretty late in life."
As for Liam, he also got married to actress Natasha Richardson , the
daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and Tony Richardson.
Liam and Natasha had two sons together, and they remained together until 2009,
when Richardson tragically passed away after a skiing accident.
Liam and his boys were left completely heartbroken by Natasha's sudden death.
However, the actor decided to focus more on his work rather than wallowing in his grief.
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.
Micheál , the couple's oldest son, has, however, found a way to keep his mom's legacy alive.
In 2018, he changed his last name to Richardson.
Neeson might have lost the love of his life, but she left him with the joys of fatherhood.
That in itself is enough reason for the actor to be thankful!
Now, It has been over three decades since the duo's romance ended;
still, they remain one of the industry's favorite former couples.
The '80s seemed like they were quite the time to be alive and in love. While they went on
very different paths in their lives and found love with other people, Liam and Helen remained
good friends, and they respected the love that they shared, even though things didn't work out.