In the movie Taken, Liam Neeson stars as the bada** father who will literally do anything to get his little girl back. In the real world, the actor has faced almost as much tragedy in his family life— most notably the loss of his gorgeous wife Natasha Richardson in 2009. Richardson died in a ski accident at Mont Tremblent ski resort in Canada, leaving her husband to care for the couple’s two sons, Michaél and Daniel, alone.
The unexpected and sudden accident rattled the entire Neeson family to the core. Now, some fans are wondering how the actor and his kids are doing, almost ten years after their tragic loss. Did the pain of losing Natasha bring the family closer together, or did it ultimately tear them apart? We have done some digging to give readers the inside scoop into the Neeson crew and what they are up to now.
A Family Apart
Liam and Natasha fell in love in the early 90s, tied the knot in 1994 and then stayed together for fifteen years, until the actress died after suffering a head injury during a skiing lesson. The loss was gut-wrenching for Liam, who even to this day has not fully accepted that Natasha will never be coming home. As the actor told Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes, her death “was never real. It still kind of isn’t. There’s periods now in our New York residence when I hear the door opening, especially the first couple of years... anytime I hear that door opening, I still think I’m going to hear her.”
The actor’s sons dealt with their grief in different ways. Liam’s older son Michaél was just thirteen at the time that he lost his mom, and he did not know how to deal with the overwhelming sense of sadness. Instead, the adolescent tried to move on as best he could, taking refuge in alcohol and parties to escape.
Michaél opened up about his struggle in an interview with Evening Standard. “I was putting socializing with my friends as my top priority,” he confessed to the outlet. “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.”
Learning How To Heal
Because of the powerful and also unexpected impact that grief can have on different members of the same family, Liam has stressed the importance of speaking out about death. The actor has focused his message on including children in conversations about loss.
As Stylist reports, Liam believes that children do not need to be protected from the grieving process; instead they need to be involved in it: children “may not intelectualize what they’ve heard but they can grow and eventually understand it. It’s important to have support of family and close friends to lean on and talk to.”
The actor clearly learned this lesson through his son’s struggle to process his feelings of loss, but was the lesson learned too late? Luckily for both Liam and Michaél, the answer is: no. In 2014, the younger Neeson asked his father for help, and Liam sent him to an outdoors program to help him face his demons.
The Boys & Growing Up
Luckily for the whole family, Michaél’s commitment to self-improvement was successful. He is now following in his father’s footsteps to pursue a career in acting, and Liam approves.
According to Business Standard, Liam even put a good word in for his son with a casting director or two. “My son Michaél plays Kyle (in Cold Pursuit),“ Neeson told the outlet, “I had suggested him early on to Hans (Petter Moland), our director, and Michael (Shamberg), our producer. And then I just stayed away. Michaél read for the part and he got it.” A father/son acting duo? Adorable! It seems that the pair are now closer than ever.
Meanwhile, Michaél’s little brother Daniel has been focused on endeavors of his own. The youngest of the Neeson boys decided to focus on his studies and actually graduated from Tulane University, according to Nicki Swift. The outlet also reports that Daniel has chosen to forgo a career in acting to pursue his true passion: fashion. In fact, the young designer is so immersed in the industry that he even launched his own brand Pine Outfitters.
But does Daniel have time for family with of his budding business? He doesn’t have to; family has time for him. According to a Liam Neeson fan page, the actor likes to make stops at his son’s workplace just to be present. At the end of the day, that’s what matters most.