Liam Neeson Feels Honored to Date Helen Mirren Who Is a “Remarkable Woman” | “She’s Really Something Else”

Liam Neeson and Helen Mirren were in a relationship from 1980 before splitting in 1985, as their careers took priority over their romance.

Cover Image Source: (L) Getty Images | Frazer Harrison (R) Getty Images | Michael Loccisano

By Priyanjali Narayan

March 6, 2023

Posted March 6, 2023

While most exes don't have anything good to say about each other, Liam Neeson still has a lot of love for his ex Helen Mirren. Before Mirren married Taylor Hackford in 1997, she was in a relationship with Neeson between 1980 and 1985, per ET.

The 77-year-old actress had said earlier to ET, “We loved each other. We were not meant to be together in that way, but we loved each other very, very much. I love him deeply to this day. He’s such an amazing guy.”

Liam Neeson, Helen Mirren and Ciaran Hinds in EXCALIBUR (1981) pic.twitter.com/Ic1G3M3z0m
— Нил Юнг (@BohemiaStable) February 20, 2017

She frequently speaks about her love for Neeson, prompting ET Canada’s Morgan Hoffman to ask the actor about her comments in a new interview. As Hoffman mentioned Mirren has said she loves him “deeply,” Neeson joked, “She got the check then.” The star, who is promoting his 100th film, Marlowe, continued, “Helen is a remarkable woman, a remarkable actress." He continued, “I should be so lucky and be honored to have spent three or four years with that lady. She’s really something else.”

Mirren and Neeson also discussed their romance when they both appeared on The Graham Norton Show back in 2018.

Mirren revealed she and Neeson got “serious” after they met on the sets of the 1981 flick Excalibur. When asked about dating the actor, Mirren replied, “We didn’t date, we lived together for four years — we were a serious item for a while. Lucky me!”

The Taken star said of their first meeting, “I remember being on the set and standing with Ciaran Hinds as Helen walked towards us dressed in her full Morgan le Fay costume and we both went, ‘Oh, f**k’ and I was smitten." He added, “I think Ciaran was too but I was very smitten. Who wouldn't be!?” Mirren replied sweetly, “I never knew that. You’ve never told me that before. It’s amazing.”

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Thomas Niedermueller

As for Mirren, she once said, the Taken actor was one of many boyfriends she gifted homemade shirts to from scratch. “I did make one for Liam, oddly enough." According to HuffPost, the couple split in 1985, as their careers took priority over their romance.

After their relationship ended, Mirren met director Taylor Hackford during her audition for his 1985 movie White Nights. Helen Mirren never thought she would marry until she met the Ray director when she was 38 years old. She tied the knot with Hackford in 1997 after a 10-year relationship.

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | David Becker

Mirren told AARP in 2016, "We got married in the end because we realized that we were going to be together forever. We got married, ultimately, for legal reasons more than anything else. Estate planning and other complicated things like that. And our families, we sensed, wanted us to be married. I always said I have nothing against marriage, it just wasn't to my taste, like turnips. It took me a very long time to come around to acquiring the taste. I just had to meet the right turnip."