Irish actor Liam Neeson held down several blue-collar jobs--truck driver, forklift operator, assistant architect--to sustain himself after he gave up professional boxing at age 17. In 1976, he responded to an ad placed by Belfast's Lyric Player's Theatre for a "tall guy" to appear in the play In the Risen; at 6'4", Neeson certainly filled the billed. While working with the Lyric, Neeson was spotted by director John Boorman, who cast the actor in the sword 'n' sorcery film Excalibur (1981). It would be nine more years before Neeson received his first starring film role, as the reclusive, mutilated hero of Darkman (1990). In 1993, Neeson was Oscar-nominated for his multitextured portrayal of manufacturer and erstwhile humanitarian Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List. Two years later, Neeson returned to the swashbuckling milieu of Excalibur with his star performance in Rob Roy. He received the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival for the title role in Neil Jordan's Michael Collins (1996). Liam Neeson is married to actress Natasha Richardson.