Film interview Seraphim Falls - Liam Neeson

We talk to Liam Neeson about his involvement in Seraphim Falls, coping with some of the physical challenges like horse-riding, and why he’s hoping to play Abraham Lincoln next…

How did you get involved in Seraphim Falls?
Liam Neeson: David Von Ancken, the writer and director, had sent me the script and we met in New York. I liked the material. The ending wasn’t satisfying yet but I liked the intent of the script and the fact that it was a Western. I also liked David’s energy and I knew Pierce [Brosnan] was going to get involved. I’ve known him off and on for a bunch of years and it’s just cool to work with your mates. I liked that fact that we were making it in Santa Fe too, which is just breathtaking. All those desert scenes and snow scenes, that’s all in the same state: New Mexico. It was terrific.

What attracted you to the role of Carver?
Liam Neeson: Even before Clint Eastwood, my hero was Audie Murphy in those B-movie Westerns that he made every four or five weeks. I just absolutely adored them, and that whole Western myth – Pierce and I were both steeped in it as children. So to get the chance to make a Western and ride horses and shoot guns and wear cowboy hats, I mean just on that basic elemental level it’s a joy. I loved even more the fact that these men hardly speak at all. It’s figures on a landscape and the landscape is millions of years old… It shows how they are reduced to their elemental level at the end of the film – and yet out of that comes this extraordinary act of forgiveness from the pair of them.

The grudge that Carver holds against Pierce Brosnan’s Gideon is pretty terrifying…
Liam Neeson: Absolutely. He tells his posse: “Extremities only.” He wants Gideon to suffer and, of course, he’s suffering as well – profoundly so. It’s almost like Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, just living with the horror of a one-track mind. Revenge is such a sickness in our society.

How tough was it shooting in mid-winter in New Mexico?
Liam Neeson: Pierce had it rougher than I did. He had to get in the water quite a few times, and be naked and stuff. I always had my bearskin coat on. There was one time we were out on the horses and gradually going into a gallop just following our stunt guys. And my stunt guy, Mark Renfell, he went round the corner and his horse went into a gopher hole and he and the horse just rolled over. It was terrifying. He got up and said: “I kind of enjoyed that!” But it was treacherous.

How did you find the horse riding? Any lingering effects from the injuries sustained in your motorcycle crash a few years ago?
Liam Neeson: No, I’m 100%. I’ve done a few cowboys-in-armour movies where I’ve had to ride, starting with Excalibur in 1980, so I can do it. When the camera’s turning, I’ll do it. But I respect horses enough that once the camera stops I get off and hand the reins to the horse-master, because they can be unpredictable.

The wranglers we had were just real old cowboys, they were fantastic. My horse was called Spider and he was beautiful. We did scenes literally riding half a mile in the desert to this black dot, which is what the camera crew looked like from my perspective. And no matter how many times we did it, that horse always hit its mark. Every time! I loved that horse. You could totally trust him. And he loved it. As soon as he heard: “And rolling…!”, his ears would shoot up – he knew he was going to perform.

You’ve played some memorable characters: Oskar Schindler, Michael Collins and next you’re going to play Abraham Lincoln for Steven Spielberg…
Liam Neeson: Yes, we’re going to do it hopefully in the next 18 months or so. He wants to tell his story. We’ve done make-up tests and for the past two years, I’ve done a lot of research. There’s over 2,000 books written on Lincoln, believe it or not, and I’ve read about 10 of them. And I’ve visited where he was born, I’ve been down in Washington to the museums and I’ve had access to all this extraordinary stuff. I’ve touched the Bible he was sworn in on, I’ve held his wallet, his glasses and his penknife. I’ve touched his signature. I mean, they gave me carte blanche. It was remarkable. I’m obsessed with the man now; I’ve actually fallen in love with him.

Photo: Icon