Has Liam Neeson been typecast because of TPM?

Is it just me or has Liam Neeson been cast in roles that are mentor/authority figures to people ever since TPM? Look at Gangs of New York in which he plays as guardian to the young Leo DiCaprio (which I'm convinced is Scorsese's homage to TPM, since the little boy looks just like Jake Lloyd), Batman Begins in which he plays Bruce Wayne's mentor, and now Narnia, in which he's the voice of Aslan the Lion. I haven't seen Kingdom of Heaven, but supposedly he's a father/mentor to Orlando Bloom's character. Is it because his role as Qui-Gon Jinn in TPM struck a chord?

 

Well, honestly, he's been playing authority/father-type figures for most of his career.

Offhand:

-Michael Collins

-Oskar Schindler

-the doctor in The Haunting

etc..
He just has that "I'm wise and in charge" air.

 

He just has that "I'm wise and in charge" air.

I agree. Liam Neeson has a very commanding, yet gentle persona about him. I don't think that he's been typecast because of his role as Qui-Gon. He does pretty well with just about any role he takes on, so he shouldn't ever really be put in the boat with other actors/actresses who are only seen by audiences as one character or another.

 

I agree with the emerging consensus.

Liam Neeson has an authority and intensity about him that doesn't seem to allow for anything less than centre stage. Of course, his HAS done non-fatherly roles, like Darkman, but even then, his screen presence was immense.

 

He landed his role in TPM because he already had that air. Rob Roy (great film) and the like. It's clear I havent seen that many of his films. He's playing Abe lincoln within a couple of years ya know.

 

Liam Neeson is awesome. He is just perfect as the non-nonsense father figure who is also compassionate and wise.

 

I wish he were my daddy! hehe!

 

Actually, Neeson's very first movie role was that of Leondegrance, one of the Knights of the Round Table, in John Boorman's 1981 epic Excalibur. So it's not like he's never played a knight, or never wielded a sword, before.

 

He also played off his SW role in Batman Begins. Only at the begining.

Batman was like his padawan. I love the sword fighting part on the ice.

 

I was thinking the other day who could be a good Aragorn, except for Viggo Mortensen, and I thought of Liam Neeson! He's a fantastic actor - nobody could play the part of Qui-Gon as well as he did!

But as for the topic - he does tend to play "father"-figure, authoritative roles - look also at Rob Roy - good film by the way

 

And it's historically accurate. I mean, it isnt known whether his friend actaully was murdered or if he just ran away with the dough, but I asked a Scot at the Rob Roy exhibit and she said it was pretty accurate, save for Liam's size and such.

 

yeah, i think he was already really playing these roles. but to be honest - why do you hire 50 something actors in the first place? To be fatherly - well in a great deal of movies !! So its not really a surprise..

 

I laughed so hard the other day, on my TV it showed a Liam Neeson movie called Kinsey, I turned it on because i saw he was in it and the second i turn it on i see him say "I punctured my foreskin" I laughed my ass off.

 

Neeson was Gawain, Patrick Stewar(Capt Picard, Professor X) was Leondegrance, Guinvere father.

 

To me Liam Neeson is Qui-Gon Jinn. Whenever I see Liam in any other movie, I always see Qui-Gon. I guess it comes with being a main character in a Star Wars movie.

 

Me too, and with almost every other star wars actor.




Emporer Gerner Dark Lord of the Sith

 

don't forget Rob Roy.

 

I don't think it's type casting,
I think it's good casting.
Liam just has that quiet presence
that lends itself to those roles.

 

When I saw him as Henri Ducard in Batman Begins, I couldn't help but think that this is what Qui-Gon Jinn as a Sith Lord would have been like!

 

That's been covered by the rest of the thread sufficiently, I think.

 

No, he was already pretty well-established in film. TPM just added to his resume for that type of role and obviously raised his profile considerably, especially towards younger audiences.

Liam Neeson played an awesome villain in Ra's Al-Ghul and finally we get to see one of the few Batman villains that can seriously challenge Batman in one-on-one physical combat.

Also, I haven't seen Kinsey but I'm going to guess that based on the subject matter, he doesn't adhere to the classic father/mentor formula.

 

Also, I haven't seen Kinsey but I'm going to guess that based on the subject matter, he doesn't adhere to the classic father/mentor formula.

mostly because kinsey himself goes from son to father in this movie. so, liam has to do many stages in a life.

 

Please don't see that movie it's terriable.




Emporer Gerner Dark Lord of the Sith

 

Watching Batman Begins Liam Neeson's lightsaber fighting as Qui-Gon was so obvious as he used what looked like a similar style in Batman Begins.
I guess he'll be used in more sword fighting films too as he's a great swordsman.

 

Unfortunatly when I saw TPM in 1999, I looked at QGJ
and saw........ Dark Man.