Stories from the past
"Cold Storage" was the first film in which Liam and his mother-in-law Vanessa Redgrave appeared on screen together.
Many little stories that Liam told from his life have crossed my path in recent days and have already found their way onto my Instagram account. These are stories that go way back into his career. I discovered an interview Liam gave to an American Sunday newspaper around 1993, which also revealed some new things about him to me. My series about Liam has grown by six new posts. Now I want to share some of these posts here as well: ....
The first part, however, is from an interview that Liam gave in the mid-2010s, in which he spoke about why he ultimately did not take on the role of Abraham Lincoln, even though he had already signed the contract:
Good evening dear lovely Liam Neeson fans...
One Photo, One Story
Part 270
May 14.2026
The Moment I Realized I Wasn't Lincoln!
"Natasha died in March, and then...I want to think it was toward the end of April, Steven (Spielberg) got together a reading. We started reading this, and there was an intro, and then I see 'Lincoln': where I have to start speaking and I just- a thunderbolt moment- I thought, 'I'm not supposed to be here. This is gone. I've passed my sell-by date. I don't want to play this Lincoln. I can't be him' . "
"So the next two-and-half, three hours of reading through it ... This extraordinary piece of writing, but it had no connection with me whatsoever. It was a very strange feeling and it was partly grief."
"So I said to Steven, 'You have to recast this now. ' and he asked 'what are you talking?' And I said, ' I'm serious you have to recast it '. So I went back home. "
"So it was Daniel ... Daniel Day's an old pal, and I think Daniel maybe had been approached first. He's fụçking Abraham Lincoln. He is perfect. Really perfect. "
Daniel Day-Lewis was originally Steven Spielberg's first choice, but he had to decline due to other commitments. Liam was the second choice. Ultimately, Day-Lewis took on the role of Lincoln and won an Oscar for his performance.
Photo
In my Instagram post, I only included a small excerpt from the interview. Here is the full passage from the interview that took place in the mid-2010s:
When GQ ask:" Most People don't know that you'd been originally cast to play Lincoln. Was it hard to let go of that?"
Liam answered:"No, I had a real thunderbolt moment with that. Steven (Spielberg)had approached me to play it. It must be ten years ago. He sent me a script, and I was like *God*. He told me roughly when he might want to shoot it, so I started researching. I maybe did four years worth of research." ...
- I'm always amazed by just how thoroughly Liam prepares for his roles. I've read about it several times. But spending nearly four years researching Abraham Lincoln- that deserves my utmost respect-
..."DorisKearnsGoodwin's *Team Of Rivals* came out. Tony, Tony Kusher ( an American screen writer and author) was on board and I was I was sent the script. I had-it was different to what had been before. Before it had been, I thought, a wonderful kind of old-fashioned biography of Lincoln, you know, from his inauguration to his death. And Tony's was very ... it was that period between passing the proclamation and ... Anyway."
Continued from May 30.2026
"Natasha died in March and then ...I want to think it was toward the end of April, Steven got together a reading, and we all sat, Sally Field, John Lithgow. Oh,just great actors. And Doris Kearns Godwin and Steven , of course. We started reading this, and there was an intro, and then I see "Lincoln" ,where I have to start speaking, and I just ... a thunderbolt moment. I thought, * I'm not supposed to be here. This is gone. I've passed my sell-by date. I don't want to play this Lincoln. I can't be him*. "
"So the next two-and-half hours of reading through it ... this extraordinary piece of writing, but it had no connection with me whatsoever. It was a very strange feeling, and it was partly grief. I read very, very poorly by any standards, but then some people come up afterward and say *Oh, You're made to play Lincoln *. I just was cringing with embarrassment. Afterward, Steven came over,and I said to him, * Steven, you have to recast this now *, and he said, * What are you talking about?* . I answered to him, * I'm serious you have to recast it!* . So I went back home, and that night I called Doris, and I had a wee chat with her. After this call, I called Steven, and said to him,* Steven, this is not for me. I can't explain it. Its gone ... It's not me ... * , and he got it, he said to me, * OK.* . And that was the end of the Lincoln role."
"Then Daniel got the part. Daniel Day's an old pal, and I think Daniel maybe had been approached first. I don't know the history of that, but I was thrilled that Daniel played him, and when I saw the film,I was like, * He's fụçking Abraham Lincoln. This Is perfect. He is perfect *"
"However, it's inspired me: I'd still like to do a Lincoln story. As much as I admired the film,there's all the rest of America and all the rest of the world who haven't a fụçking clue who Lincoln is, who he was. I think the film shows him,yes, but I think I'd still like to do an old-fashioned biography of Lincoln. "
June 1.2026
In 2014 , Liam said in another interview, " I spent 4 years preparing for the role. Filming kept getting postponed, and I kept finding new material read as I prepared for the role. The first screenplay covered Abraham Lincoln's entire presidency. At the time, the film was intended to span the period from his inauguration to his assassination. There was an initial draft of the screenplay, written by Oscar-nominated screewriter John Logan. You know, Logan wrote the screenplay for "Gladiator" and "Aviator" , among other films. Later, this initial screenplay was rewritten by playwright Paul Webb. However, Steven, was not satisfied with either version and brought screenwriter and author Tony Kusher onto the team. Tony the wrote a screenplay covering the final four months of Abraham Lincoln's life."
"I spent about four years researching my role as Abraham Lincoln. Four years for a movie I ended up not being in, because I suddenly no longer recognized myself in the role anymore ", said Liam, " then Doris Kearns Godwin's biography of Lincoln " Team Of Rivals: The Political Genius Of Lincoln" came out, and we got a new screenwriter."
"However the story didn't really resonate with me, so I decided not to take the role after all and withdrew from the project."
Additional information:
Daniel Day-Lewis, who went on to play Abraham Lincoln, was at the same time- while the film was being shot- considering making a about the U.S. Civil rights movement titled "Selma" , and offered Liam the role of President Lyndon B. Johnson. However, he was unable to bring the film to fruition due to a lack of producers. "Selma" was later directed by Ava DuVernay, and Tom Wilkinson took on the role of the president.
This post has gone on for quite a while, as it ended up being very long and sometimes pushed me to my physical limits. That's why I'll be spreading the Instagram posts I mentioned above across another blog post. I've also found some great interviews that Liam gave to Bobbie Wygant between 1990 and 1999, which I really enjoyed listening to. I'd like to try to share these interviews with you in another blog post - or perhaps two more posts.
PhotosGhettyImage
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Maidin mhaith, a Liam a chara. Guím lá iontach síochánta ort agus tá súil agam go mbeimid in ann cupán tae a bheith againn le chéile agus comhrá a dhéanamh go luath. Tabhair aire mhaith duit féin agus do do mhic agus fan sláintiúil. Tá sé iontach go bhfuil tú anseo. Go raibh maith agat as gach rud a dhéanann tú agus as an tacaíocht a thugann tú. 🫶🙏
❤️🇮🇪🍀💚🤍🧡
