Hollywood star Orlando Bloom has revealed that he sees Liam Neeson as a father figure – and that following the Irishman’s motto seems to work just fine.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star worked with the Irish legend when they appeared in Kingdom of Heaven in 2005.
Bloom revealed how exciting it was to work with Neeson – and how Neeson gave him some great advice and made him feel at ease.
Bloom told the Irish Sun: “Just getting to breathe the same air was enough. I’d grown up watching his movies — Schindler’s List, Michael Collins. I thought I was going to be terrified by this towering legend.
“And it was my first lead in a movie. I’d done Pirates and Lord of the Rings and Troy. But this time, I was number one on the call sheet of this very expensive, very big movie. I’m 25, 26 and that can make your head explode.
“And Liam was amazing, we just clicked. It was like meeting a guy you’ve known your entire life. And you know, he knows how huge this is for me, watches out for me, like a surrogate dad figure and I remember him saying, ‘Just stay you! Always stay you. Don’t buy into any of the bulls***.’ That’s been his motto, seems to have worked.”
The English star – who has Irish ancestry also spoke about speaking in an Irish accent for four months while playing an Australian-Irish outlaw in the 2003 drama Ned Kelly.
He said: “It was my form of method acting, at the time. Once I had it, I didn’t want to give it up so I stayed Irish for the entire shoot. It became part of my identity. And I still break into it from time to time. Good to bring it back.”
Bloom added that he would love to film in Ireland some day and revealed that he almost had the chance – but had to pull out at the last minute.
He was hoping to play a role in Glenn Close’s ‘Albert Nobbs’ in 2010 alongside an all-star Irish cast featuring Brenda Fricker, Brendan Gleeson and Maria Doyle Kennedy.
However, the filming clashed with the birth of his son.
Bloom said: “I was always going to be there for the birth. I was always going to be in the room so there wasn’t any other way.
“It was disappointing, it was a project that I’d really pursued. I was really looking forward to living in Dublin and working with Glenn and John Banville but sadly, timing was all off.”
Written by Michael Kehoe @michaelcalling
