NEED TO KNOW
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Helen Mirren opened up about her relationship with Liam Neeson in a new profile of the Naked Gun actor for The New York Times
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“I will love Liam until the day I die,” Mirren said of Neeson, whom she was involved with from 1980 to 1985 after meeting on the set of 1981’s Excalibur
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The pair since moved on in other romantic relationships, but have spoken fondly about their enduring connection over the years
Helen Mirren is taking a trip down memory lane.
The Thursday Murder Club actress recalled her past relationship with Liam Neeson in a newly published New York Times profile of the Naked Gun actor, whom she dated in the early 1980s.
Mirren, 80, remembered how she and Neeson “had our talks about our dreams” during their time together. And for her then-beau, it “was very much Liam’s dream” to become an actor — specifically, in the vein of “the guy riding across the plains” in an American film.
“It was highly unlikely at that point to ever come to fruition,” she continued. “But that’s what Liam would talk about, and it’s extraordinary to see it happen for him.”
Added Mirren of Neeson, 73, “I will love Liam until the day I die.”
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Liam Neeson and Helen Mirren on Nov. 18, 1984
Mirren and Neeson previously looked back on their romance during a joint appearance on The Graham Norton Show back in January 2018 — and when the host mentioned they once “dated,” Mirren was quick to (politely) correct him.
“We didn’t date — we lived together. We were a serious item for a while,” said the Oscar winner, who was with Neeson from 1980 to 1985.
Neeson recalled to Graham Norton how they met on the set of 1981’s Excalibur, before he started officially working on the movie and while she was on a break from filming.
“She walked from like a hundred yards away, dressed as [her character] Morgana le Fay,” he recalled of the moment before he and his friend, who was with him, “went, ‘F—‘ ” upon seeing Mirren make her approach.
“I was smitten,” Neeson added, before Mirren told him on the show, clearly touched, “You’ve never told me that before, that’s amazing.”
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty
Liam Neeson and Helen Mirren in London on June 11, 2019
Of course, the two eventually went on to have other relationships. Neeson is currently dating his Naked Gun costar Pamela Anderson, and was previously linked to Barbra Streisand and Brooke Shields before marrying wife Natasha Richardson in 1994. He and Richardson were married until her death at age 45 in 2009.
Meanwhile, Mirren tied the knot with Taylor Hackford in 1997 after 10 years together. And as the actress told AARP in 2016, “We got married in the end because we realized that we were going to be together forever.”
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In a 2023 interview with ET Canada, Neeson called Mirren “a remarkable woman” and actress when asked about their past relationship.
“I should be so lucky and be honored to have spent three or four years with that lady,” Neeson said of Mirren. “She’s really something else.”
The Naked Gun is in theaters Friday, Aug. 1.
Read the original article on People
