Editing Liam Neeson (section)

===1993–2000: Breakthrough and acclaim ===
[[Steven Spielberg]] offered Neeson the role of [[Oskar Schindler]] in his [[the Holocaust|holocaust]] film ''[[Schindler's List]]''<ref>{{cite news |title=Liam Neeson |newspaper=[[Newsday]] |last=de Vries |first=Hilary |date=3 July 1993}}</ref> after seeing him in ''[[Anna Christie]]'' on Broadway. [[Kevin Costner]], [[Mel Gibson]] and [[Warren Beatty]] all expressed interest in the part<ref name=inside>{{cite web |first=Susan |last=Royal |title=An Interview with Steven Spielberg |website=Inside Film Magazine Online |url=http://www.insidefilm.com/spielberg.html |access-date=29 October 2008 |archive-date=24 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024060256/http://www.insidefilm.com/spielberg.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=makinghistory>{{cite magazine |title=Spielberg and 'Schindler's List': How it came together |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |first=Anne |last=Thompson |date=21 January 1994 |url=https://ew.com/article/1994/01/21/spielberg-and-schindlers-list-how-it-came-together/ |access-date=8 August 2007 |archive-date=15 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015004920/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,300806,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> (Beatty even auditioned),<ref name="inside"/> but Neeson was cast in December 1992 after auditioning for the role.<ref name=makinghistory/> He read the Keneally book and concluded that his character "enjoyed fookin'{{sic}} with the Nazis. In Keneally's book, it says he was regarded as a kind of a buffoon by them... if the Nazis were New Yorkers, he was from [[Arkansas]]. They don't quite take him seriously, and he used that to full effect."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Liam Neeson joins the A-List after 'Schindler's List' |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=21 January 1994 |url=https://ew.com/article/1994/01/21/liam-neeson-joins-list-after-schindlers-list/ |access-date=8 August 2007 |archive-date=15 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015004925/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,300807_2,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> His critically acclaimed performance earned him a nomination for a [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] Oscar, and helped the film earn [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] of 1993. He also received [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]] and [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globes]] nominations for the performance. 

In 1993, Neeson made his [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] debut playing Mat Burke in the revival of the [[Eugene O'Neill]] play ''[[Anna Christie]]'' starring opposite his ''Ellis Island'' co-star and future wife [[Natasha Richardson]]. For his performance he was nominated for the [[Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.playbill.com/production/anna-christie-criterion-center-stage-right-vault-0000003832|title= Anna Christie (Broadway, 1993)|website= Playbill|accessdate= March 21, 2024}}</ref> The following year they also worked together in ''[[Nell (film)|Nell]]'' (1994) starring [[Jodie Foster]]. He then took leading roles in the [[period piece]] drama films including playing the lead role of [[Rob Roy MacGregor]] in the historical drama  ''[[Rob Roy (1995 film)|Rob Roy]]'' (1995) opposite [[Jessica Lange]], [[Brian Cox (actor)|Brian Cox]], and [[Tim Roth]]. Critic [[Roger Ebert]] of ''[[The Chicago Sun-Times]]'' praised his ability to be a [[leading man]] writing, "Neeson, tall and grand, makes an effortless hero as ''Rob Roy''".<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rob-roy-1995|title= Rob Roy movie review|website= [[Roger Ebert|Rogerebert.com]]|accessdate= March 21, 2024}}</ref> 

The following year he acted in [[Neil Jordan]]'s historical drama ''[[Michael Collins (film)|Michael Collins]]'' (1996) alongside [[Julia Roberts]], and [[Alan Rickman]]. Neeson portrayed the [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|title role]] as the Irish revolutionary leading the fight for Irish independence. The film premiered at the [[Venice Film Festival]] where it received the [[Golden Lion]] with Neeson earning the [[Volpi Cup for Best Actor]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The awards of the Venice Film Festival |url=http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/history/awards1.html?back=true |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214222519/http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/history/awards1.html?back=true |archive-date=14 February 2017 |access-date=2024-03-21 |publisher=Labiennale.org}}</ref> He later earning nominations for the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Golden Globe Nominations|url=https://variety.com/1996/scene/vpage/golden-globe-nominations-2-1117436552/|access-date=21 March 2024|work=Variety|date=19 December 1996}}</ref> Todd McCarthy of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' praised his performance writing, "Neeson is a compulsive dynamo as Collins, with the actor seizing his part with a passion and boldness utterly in keeping with the character’s approach to life and his cause".<ref>{{cite web|url= https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/michael-collins-1200446989/|title= Michael Collins review|website= March 21, 2024|date= 3 September 1996}}</ref>

Neeson portrayed [[Jean Valjean]] in the 1998 adaptation of [[Victor Hugo]]'s ''[[Les Misérables (1998 film)|Les Misérables]]'' directed by [[Bille August]]. He starred alongside [[Uma Thurman]], [[Geoffrey Rush]], and [[Claire Danes]]. Writing of Neeson's performance, [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "[He] plays the role with the sure physical authority and profound decency that are fundamental to Valjean's character" adding, "With a first-rate cast and a venerable storytelling style, it fluently condenses Victor Hugo's epic novel and retrieves some of its suspenseful momentum."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/050198lesmis-film-review.html|title= 'Les Miserables': A Cat-And-Mouse Game Amid Epic Turbulence|website= [[The New York Times]]|accessdate= March 21, 2024}}</ref> That same year he returned to the stage in the [[David Hare (playwright)|David Hare]] play ''[[The Judas Kiss (play)|The Judas Kiss]]'' (1998) portraying [[Oscar Wilde]] which ran at both the [[Almeida Theatre]] in the [[West End (theatre)|West End]] and the [[Broadhurst Theatre]] on [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/88209-the-judas-kiss-at-playhouse-theatre-1998|title= The Judas Kiss at The Almeida Theatre|website= Abouttheartists|accessdate= March 21, 2024}}</ref> He acted alongside [[Tom Hollander]] and [[Peter Capaldi]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.playbill.com/production/the-judas-kiss-broadhurst-theatre-vault-0000002000|title= The Judas Kiss (Broadway, 1998)|website= Playbill|accessdate= March 21, 2024}}</ref> In 1999 he acted in the [[supernatural horror]] film ''[[The Haunting (1999 film)|The Haunting]]'' (1999) opposite [[Catherine Zeta-Jones]].