Knights, sword fights and Helen Mirren ... it doesn’t get better than that, says Neeson
Old flames recount their passionate relationship in their early days on set 30 years after split
MEETING up with an old flame can be awkward, particularly when the relationship ended in heartbreak.
Not so for Dame Helen Mirren and Liam Neeson. The pair were reunited on a chat show sofa, more than 30 years after their split, and shared warm memories of their love affair – with Neeson confiding that he was “smitten” from their first encounter.
The two actors became a couple after meeting in 1980 on the set of John Boorman’s Excalibur. Neeson was in his first major role, as Sir Gawain, and Dame Helen was playing Morgana.
Appearing on BBC One’s The Graham Norton Show to promote their latest films – Dame Helen stars in a horror film, Winchester, and Neeson in action thriller The Commuter – the pair were asked about their dating history. “We didn’t date, we lived together for four years. We were a serious item for a while. Lucky me!” said Dame Helen.
Neeson recalled: “Before I met her, I had read somewhere that if she fancied a guy she would imitate his walk behind his back. And I turned around one day and she was doing that to me. I remember being on the set and standing with Ciarán Hinds as Helen walked towards us dressed in her full Morgana le Fay costume. I was smitten. I think Ciarán was too, but I was very smitten.”
Dame Helen laughed: “I never knew that. You’ve never told me that before – it’s amazing!” At the time, the actress was well known for her stage work and had made her film breakthrough in The Long Good Friday. Neeson, seven years her junior, has said in the past that watching Dame Helen on set was “mesmeric. She was as beautiful up close as on stage. Just so human”. He told one interviewer: “Can you imagine riding horses in shiny suits of armour, having sword fights, and you’re falling in love with Helen Mirren? It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Neeson moved into Dame Helen’s London flat but struggled to find work, as her career went from strength to strength. In a 1994 profile of Neeson, Dame Helen said: “It was difficult for him to be under my shadow. I was well known. I had the money.” She added: “He handled it with great elegance and grace. We loved each other.”
Neeson moved to Hollywood in 1987, earning an Oscar nomination for his role in the 1993 film Schindler’s List. He married the actress Natasha Richardson in 1994 and they had two children.
Dame Helen, 72, married Taylor Hackford, the US director, in 1997.