Coordinates	24°32′″N96°53′″N
nickname	Steve
origin	Greek
gender	Male
meaning	Wreath, Crown, Honour, Reward }}

Stephen or Steven () is a masculine first name, derived from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown, garland", in turn from the Greek word "στέφανος", meaning "wreath, crown, honour, reward", literally "that which surrounds or encompasses". In ancient Greece a wreath was given to the winner of a contest (from which the crown, symbol of rulers derived). The use of the noun was first recorded in Homer's Iliad. The name is significant to Christians: according to the Book of Acts in the New Testament, Saint Stephen was a deacon who was stoned to death and is regarded as the first Christian martyr. The name has many variants, which include Stephan, Stevan, Stefan and Stevon.

Manetho writing ca. 3rd century BC records the name of Tefnakht II, a minor king who ruled beginning in 732 BC during the twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt.

In Middle English, the name Stephen or Stephan was pronounced as a bi-syllabic word — Step-hen or Step-han — much like a Scandinavian surname. Steve was pronounced as it is in Modern English. This etymological usage began a decline in the mid-19th century.

Steve is the common short form and various diminutives such as Stevie are also used. Many family names are derived from Stephen: the most common are Stephens/Stevens and Stephenson/Stevenson (others include Stephen, Stephan, Staphan, Stefan, Stevin and Stever).

The name was the ranked 201 in the United States in 2009, according to the Social Security Administration. The name reached its peak popularity in 1951 but remained very common through the mid 1990s, when popularity started to decrease in the United States

In the United Kingdom, it peaked during the 1950s and 1960s as one of the top 10 male first names (ranking third in 1954) but had fallen to 20th by 1984 and had fallen out of the top 100 by 2002.

The female version of the name is Stephanie.

For Stephen as a surname see Stephen (surname), Stephenson and Stevenson.

List of alternatives

Estavan (Spanish)

Esteban (Spanish, Filipino, Basque)

Estebe (Basque)

Estêvão, Stefen (Portuguese)

Esteve (Catalan)

Estevo (Galician)

Étienne ("Estienne" is an obsolete spelling), Stéphane (French)

Êtiên (Vietnamese)

İstefanos, Stefan (Turkish)

İstfan, Stepan (Azeri)

István (Hungarian)

Kepano, Kiwini (Hawaiian)

(Shǐtífēn, Shǐdìfēn, Shǐdìfēn, Sīdéwàng, Sīdìfēn; Chinese)

스티븐 (Seutibeun; Korean)

Shtjefën or Stefan (Albanian language)

Sitiveni (Tongan, Fijian)

Staffan, Stefan Swedish

Steafán, Stiofán (Irish)

Stefán (Icelandic)

Stefano (Esperanto)

Stefano (Italian)

Ştefan (Romanian)

Štefan (Slovak)

Štefan (Slovene)

Stefan, Stefaan, Stëven, Stephan (Afrikaans)

Stefan, Stephan, Steffen (German)

Ephenstay, (Pig Latin)(Unofficial)

Stefan, Szczepan (Polish)

Steffan, Stifyn (Welsh)

Steffen (Norwegian)

Steffen, Stephen, Stefan, Stephan (Danish)

Štěpán (Czech)

Stefanus, Stephanus (Latin)

Stepans, Stepons (Latvian)

Steponas, Stepas (Lithuanian)

Steven (Breton)

Steven, Stefaan, Stefanus, Stefan, Stephan (Dutch)

Stiefnu (Maltese)

スティーブン、スティーブ、スティーヴン (Stiibun, Stiibu, Stiivun; Japanese)

Stìobhan, Stìophan, Stèaphan (Scottish Gaelic)

Stjepan, Stipe, Stipo (Croatian)

Tapani, Teppana (Finnish)

Tehvan (Estonian)

Tipene (Māori)

Istfan, إصتفان, ستيف, ستيفن (Arabic)

סטיבן (Steven; Hebrew)

Στέφανος (Stephanos, Stefanos, Greek)

Степан, Стефан (Stepan, Stefan, Ukrainian; Стефан [Stefan] is a more western Ukrainian usage)

Стефан (Stefan), diminutive: Стефчо (Stefcho), (Bulgarian)

Стефан/Stefan, Стеван/Stevan, Степан/Stepan, Шћепан/Šćepan, Стијепо/Stijepo, Стево/Stevo (Serbian)

Стефан/Stefan, Стеван/Stevan, Шћепан/Šćepan (Montenegrin)

Стефан/Stefan, Стеван/Stevan, Стево/Stevo, Стефче/Stefche (Macedonian)

Стефан, Стивен, Степан (Stefan,Stiven,Stepan, Russian)

Ստեփանոս, Ստեփան (Stepanos, Stepan, Armenian)

სტეფანე (Stepane, Georgian)

ஸ்டீபன் (Sṭīpan, Tamil)

''Eapen (Malayalam)

Steephan (South Indian)

Steeve or Styve (Québec)

Notable known by the name Stephen

:Note: to find people with the given name Stephen who are also known by another name, see .

Saints

Saint Stephen (died c. 35), the first martyr (Protomartyr) of the Christian church

the Life of St. Stephen of Sugdaea, also on Bravlin

Stephen, one of the pair of Christian saints and martyrs Socrates and Stephen

Stephen the Younger (ca. 715–765), Byzantine iconodule martyr

Stephen I of Hungary (c. 965–1038), canonized in 1083

Stephen of Obazine (1085–1154), Cistercian, first Abbot of Obazine Abbey, France

Stephen Harding (died 1134), English, one of the founders of the Cistercian Order

Stephen III of Moldavia or Stephen the Great and Holy (c.1432–1504), son of Bogdan II

Stephen Theodore Cuenot, a bishop from France, see Vietnamese Martyrs

Stephen Vinh, also of the Vietnamese Martyrs

Royalty

Stephen of Armenia (died 1165), marshal, son of Leo I

Stephen of England or Stephen of Blois (c.1096–1154), grandson of William the Conqueror

Stephen I of Hungary (c. 965–1038), Grand Prince of the Magyars, first king of Hungary

Stephen II of Hungary (1101–1131), elder son of King Coloman

Stephen III of Hungary (1147–1172), eldest son of King Geza II

Stephen IV of Hungary (c.1133–1165), third son of King Béla II

Stephen V of Hungary (1239–1272), elder son of King Béla IV

Stephen I of Moldavia (1394–1399), son of Costea

Stephen II of Moldavia (died 1447), prince, son of Alexandru cel Bun

Stephen III of Moldavia or Stephen the Great and Holy (c.1432–1504), son of Bogdan II

Stephen Báthory of Poland (1533–1586), prince of Transylvania, king consort of Poland, grand duke consort of Lithuania

Stefan Nemanja or Stefan I, Nemanja (c.1109–1199), grand prince of Serb state of Raška

Stefan Nemanjić or Stefan II, Nemanja (1176–1228), proclaimed king of Serbia in 1217

Stefan Radoslav of Serbia (c.1192-c.1235), king of Serbia, son of Nemanjić

Stefan Vladislav I of Serbia (died after 1264), son of Stefan Nemanjić

Stephen Uroš I of Serbia (died 1277), son of Stefan Nemanjić

Stefan Dragutin (died 1316), son of Stefan Uroš I

Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia (1282–1321)

Stefan Vladislav II of Syrmia (1321-c.1325)

Stefan Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia (1321–1331)

Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (Dušan the Mighty) (1331–1355), king 1331–1346; tsar 1346–1355

Stefan Uroš V of Serbia (Uroš the Weak) (1355–1371), tsar

Stefan Lazarević (1374–1427), Serbian despot

Stefan I Crnojevic (1426–1465), lord of Zeta (Montenegro) 1451–1465

Stefan II Crnojevic, lord of Zeta (Montenegro) 1496–1498

Stjepan Držislav of Croatia (died 997), king 969–997

Stjepan II of Croatia (died 1091), king 1089–1091, last member of the Trpimirović dynasty

Ivan Stephen of Bulgaria (died after 1343), tsar 1330–1331

Church figures (Stephen or Stephanus)

Pope Stephen I (died 257), Bishop of Rome from 254–257

Pope-elect Stephen (died 752), elected Pope but died before being ordained

Pope Stephen II (died 757), pope from 752–757

Pope Stephen III (720–772), pope from 768–772

Pope Stephen IV (died 817), pope from 816–817

Pope Stephen V (died 891), pope from 885–891

Pope Stephen VI (died 897), pope from 896–897

Pope Stephen VII (died 931), pope from 929–931

Pope Stephen VIII (died 942), German, pope from 939–942

Pope Stephen IX (c. 1020–1058), pope from 1057–1058

Esteban, bishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zaragoza, Spain, from 1128 to 1130

Ecumenical Patriarch Stephen I of Constantinople (867–893), patriarch from 886 to 893

Ecumenical Patriarch Stephen II of Constantinople, from Amasea, patriarch from 925 to 928

Stephanus I, Archbishop of Aquileia, Italy, c. 515

Stephanus II, Patriarch of Grado, Italy, c. 670

Stefan (Archbishop of Uppsala), Sweden, (before 1150–1185), first archbishop from 1164 to 1185

Other

Stephen F. Austin (1793–1836), Empresario that settled Texas

Stephen Baldwin (born 1966), American actor

Steven Ballmer (born 1956), CEO of Microsoft

Stephen Vincent Benét (1898–1943), American author

Steven Best (born 1955), American activist and presenter

Steven Francis "Steve" Cantwell (born 1986), American mixed martial arts fighter

Stephen Chow (born 1962), Hong Kong actor, comedian and director

Stephen Cochran (born 1979), American Country music singer/songwriter

Stephen Colbert (born 1964), American political satirist, comedian, and television host

Stephen Corry, Director of the British indigenous rights organisation Survival International

Stephen Crane (1871–1900), American novelist and journalist

Stephen Farrelly (born 1978), Irish professional wrestler and actor.Sheamus

Stephen Foster (1826–1864), known as the "Father of American music"

Stephen Fry (born 1957), British actor, comedian, television presenter

Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002), American paleontologist/biologist

Stephen Victor Graham, 18th Governor of American Samoa

Stephen Hawking (born 1942), British theoretical physicist

Stephen Hawkins (born 1971), Australian rower

Stephen Hendry (born 1969), British snooker player

Steven Herzberg, English-born Australian cricketer

Stephen Kenyon (born 1951), English long-distance runner

Stephen King (born 1947), American horror fiction and screenplay writer

Stephen Maguire (born 1981), British snooker player

Stephen Malkmus (born 1966), indie rock musician

Stephen Merchant (born 1974), British writer, director, radio presenter, and actor

Stephen Milligan (1948–1994), British politician and journalist

Stephen Campbell Moore (born 1979), British actor

Stephen Morris (born 1957), British drummer and musician

Stephen Sackur (born 1964), British BBC journalist

Stephen Timms (born 1955), British politician

Stephen Wallem (born 1968), American theater/television actor and singer

Steve Davis (born 1957), British snooker player

Steve Dubinsky (born 1970), Canadian NHL center

Steve Dublanica (born 1968), American author and blogger.

Steve Irwin (1962–2006), Australian TV personality, nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter"

Steve Jobs (born 1955), American co-founder of Apple Inc

Steve Stone (disambiguation)

Steve Wozniak (born 1950), American co-founder of Apple Inc

Steve Yeager (born 1948), American major league baseball catcher

Steve McQueen (1930–1980), American actor

Steven Herzberg (born 1957), English-born Australian cricketer

Steven Seagal (born 1952), American actor

Steven Shields (born 1975, Canadian NHL goalie

Steven Spielberg (born 1946), American film director

Steven Tyler (born 1948), American singer songwriter and Aerosmith frontman

Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954–1990), American guitarist, singer and songwriter

Steven Parris Ward (born 1963), English poet and philosopher

Steve "Boomstick" Wilson, current drummer of T.A.T.u. and former drummer of Dead Kennedys and Against All Will

Stevie Wonder (born 1950), American multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter

Stephanus of Byzantium, 6th century author of Ethnica, a geographical dictionary

Stephanus Med., 7th century physician (see List of ancient European doctors)

Stephanus, Phil, 7th century physician (see List of ancient European doctors)

Stephanus, pupil of Pasiteles (fl. 33 BCE) sculptor in the time of Caesar Augustus

Stefan Mappus (born 1966), German politician

Steve Case, founder of America Online

Fiction

Steven Hyde was a character on the TV show That 70s Show

Steven Freeling is a character in the first two Poltergeist films from the 1980s.

Popularity

The spelling "Stephen" reached its peak of popularity in the United States in the period 1949–1951, when it was the 19th most popular name for newborn boys. It stayed in the top 100 boys' names from 1936 through 2000, and for most years between 1897 and 1921. In 2008 it was the 192nd most common name for boys.

The spelling "Steven" reached its peak of popularity in the United States in the period 1955–1961, when it was the 10th most popular name for newborn boys. It stayed in the top 100 boys' names from 1941 through 2007. In 2008 it was the 104th most popular name for boys. Before the 20th century, the "Steven" spelling was heavily outweighed by "Stephen", never reaching above 391st.

In England and Wales, neither "Stephen" nor "Steven" was among the top 100 names for newborn boys in 2003–2007. In Scotland, "Steven" and "Stephen" were the 8th and 10th most popular names for newborn boys in 1975, but were not in the top ten in 1900, 1950 or 2000. "Stephen" was 68th in 1900, and 46th in 1950, while "Steven" was not in the top 100 either year. Neither spelling was in the top 100 names for newborn boys in Scotland in 2008. Neither "Stephen" nor "Steven" was among top 25 most popular baby boys' names in Ireland in 2006 or 2007.

References

Category:English masculine given names Category:Given names of Greek language origin

cs:Štěpán de:Stefan es:Stephen fr:Stephen id:Stephen it:Stefano la:Stephanus hu:István ja:スティーヴン no:István pl:Stefan pt:Stephen ru:Стивен fi:Tapani (nimi) zh:司提反

Coordinates	24°32′″N96°53′″N
birth name	William John Neeson
birth date	June 07, 1952
birth place	Ballymena, Northern Ireland
citizenship	American
alma mater	Queen's University Belfast
spouse	Natasha Richardson (m. 1994–2009; deceased)
religion	Roman Catholic
occupation	Actor
years active	1973–present }}

Liam John Neeson, OBE (born 7 June 1952) is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.

He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars (the film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Alfred Kinsey in Kinsey, Ras Al Ghul in Batman Begins and the voice of Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia film series. He has also starred in several other notable films, from major Hollywood studio releases (eg. Excalibur, The Dead Pool, Nell, Rob Roy, The Haunting, Love Actually, Kingdom of Heaven, Taken, Clash of the Titans, The A-Team, Unknown) to smaller arthouse films (eg. Deception, Breakfast on Pluto, Chloe).

He was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland and educated at Saint Patrick's College, Ballymena Technical College and Queen's University Belfast. He moved to Dublin after university to further his acting career, joining the renowned Abbey Theatre. In the early 1990s, he moved again to the United States, where the wide acclaim for his performance in Schindler's List led to more high-profile work. He is widowed and lives in New York with his two sons.

Early life

Neeson was born June 7, 1952 in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and is the son of Katherine Kitty (née Brown), a cook, and Bernard "Barney" Neeson, a caretaker at the local Catholic boys' primary school (Ballymena Boys All Saints Primary School). He was raised Roman Catholic and was called Liam, short for William, after the local priest. He was the third child in the family and the only boy among four siblings; his sisters are Elizabeth, Bernadette, and Rosaline. At age nine, Neeson began boxing lessons at the All Saints Youth Club, and later became Ulster amateur senior boxing champion. At age eleven, Neeson first stepped on stage. His English teacher gave him the lead role in a school play, which he accepted because the girl he was attracted to would be starring. From then on, he kept acting in school productions for the following years. His interest in acting and decision to become an actor was also influenced by minister Ian Paisley, whose church Neeson would sneak into. Neeson has said of Paisley that "He had a magnificent presence and it was incredible to watch this six foot-plus man just bible-thumping away...It was acting but it was also great acting and stirring too."

Neeson was enrolled in 1971 as a physics and computer science undergraduate student at Queen's University Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland, before leaving to work for Guinness.

Liam found a talent for football while in University. He was spotted by Seán Thomas at Bohemian F.C.. There was a club trial in Dublin. He only played one game as a substitute against Shamrock Rovers and was not offered a contract to continue playing.

Career

1978–1999

After leaving university, Neeson returned to Ballymena where he worked in a variety of casual jobs, from a fork-lift operator at Guinness to a truck driver. He also attended teacher training college in Newcastle for two years before again returning to his home town. In 1976, Neeson joined the Lyric Players' Theatre in Belfast where he performed for two years. He got his first film experience in 1977, playing Jesus Christ and Evangelist in the religious film, Pilgrim's Progress directed by Ken Anderson. Neeson moved to Dublin in 1978 after he was offered a part in a production at the Project Arts Centre. The play was Ron Hutchinson's "Says I, Says He", a drama about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Neeson acted in several other Project productions and joined the Abbey Theatre. In 1980, filmmaker John Boorman saw him on stage, acting as Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men, and offered him the part of Sir Gawain in the upcoming Arthurian film, Excalibur. After Excalibur, Neeson moved to London, where he continued working on stage, small budget films and television series. He lived with the actress Helen Mirren at this time, whom he met working on Excalibur. Between 1982 and 1987, Neeson starred in five films; most notably alongside Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in 1984's The Bounty and Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons in 1986's The Mission. He also starred as a guest actor in the third season of the television series Miami Vice in 1986.

In 1987, Neeson made a conscious decision to move to Hollywood in order to star in high-profile roles. That year, he starred alongside Cher and Dennis Quaid in Suspect. The role brought Neeson critical applause, but it was 1990's Darkman that would bring his name to public attention. Although the film was successful, Neeson's following years would not give him the same recognition. In 1993, he joined Ellis Island co-star and future wife Natasha Richardson in the Broadway play Anna Christie. (They also worked together in Nell, released the following year.) He recited the Van Morrison song "Coney Island" on the 1994 Van Morrison tribute album, No Prima Donna: The Songs of Van Morrison. A single was also released with Neeson's version.

Director Steven Spielberg, impressed by his performance in Nell, offered him the coveted role of Oskar Schindler in the film about the Holocaust, Schindler's List. His critically acclaimed performance later earned him a nomination for a Best Actor Oscar; however, the award went to Tom Hanks for his performance in Philadelphia. Neeson also garnered BAFTA and Golden Globes nominations for Schindler's List.

Schindler's List established Neeson as a widely sought-after leading actor. He later starred in period pieces Rob Roy (1995) and Michael Collins (1996), the latter earning him another Golden Globe nomination and a win for Best Starring Role at the Venice Film Festival. Neeson went on to star as Jean Valjean in the 1998 adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables and in The Haunting (1999) as Dr. David Marrow.

Star Wars

In 1999, Neeson starred as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, in director George Lucas' Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. As it was the first Star Wars film to be released in over sixteen years, it was surrounded by a large amount of anticipation from the media. Neeson's connection to the Star Wars films started in the Crown Bar, Belfast. Neeson stated to Ricki Lake, "I probably wouldn't have taken the role if it wasn't for the advice of Peter King in the Crown during a Lyric reunion." The Phantom Menace was an enormous box-office success and remains the most financially successful Star Wars film unadjusted for inflation. Qui-Gon's voice, provided by Neeson, would later be heard during a brief scene in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002). Qui-Gon was supposed to make an appearance in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) as a Force Ghost, and Neeson had hinted at involvement. However, he was ultimately unable to appear due to a motorcycle injury, and his character is only mentioned in the film. In 2011, he reappeared as the voice of Qui-Gon in the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

2001–present

Neeson narrated the 2001 documentaries Journey Into Amazing Caves and The Endurance: Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure. After being nominated for a Tony Award for his role opposite Laura Linney in The Crucible, Neeson teamed up with Harrison Ford in Kathryn Bigelow's submarine thriller K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) as Captain Mikhail Polenin and appeared in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brendan Gleeson, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis). He also played a recently widowed writer in Richard Curtis' ensemble comedy Love Actually (2003). His role as Alfred Kinsey in Kinsey again put Neeson up for nomination for a Golden Globe Award but he lost out to Leonardo DiCaprio for The Aviator. In 2004, Neeson hosted an episode of the NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live. He starred as a redneck trucker, Marlon Weaver, in an "Appalachian Emergency Room" sketch and a hippie in a one-off sketch about two stoners (the other played by Amy Poehler) who attempt to borrow a police dog in order to find their lost stash of marijuana. Despite vowing not to play any characters who were Irish stereotypes, Neeson did play a stereotypically Irish man named Lorken McArdle in the home makeover show parody "You Call This A House, Do Ya?" In 2005, Neeson played Godfrey of Ibelin in Ridley Scott's epic adventure Kingdom of Heaven, Ra's al Ghul, one of the main villains in Batman Begins, and as Father Bernard in Neil Jordan's adaptation of Patrick McCabe's novel, Breakfast on Pluto. Also in 2005, he voiced the role of a kindly priest on The Simpsons, who converted Bart and Homer to Catholicism. That same year, he gave his voice to the lion Aslan in the blockbuster fantasy film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. A year later, he narrated the documentary Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity. Following a noticeable lull in his acting career, Neeson starred in the 2008 hit Taken, which brought his image back into the public eye and resulted in his casting in many more mainstraim Hollywood movies.

In 2007, Neeson starred in the American Civil War epic Seraphim Falls alongside Pierce Brosnan and Anjelica Huston.

Neeson's voice is featured in the video game Fallout 3 as the main character's father, James. The executive producer of the game, Todd Howard, said "This role was written with Liam in mind, and provides the dramatic tone for the entire game". Fallout 3, the third game in the Fallout series, has been extremely well received by critics and shipped 4.7 million copies by the end of 2008, the year it was released.

In the director's commentary of the 2007 Transformers DVD, Michael Bay said that he had told the animators to seek inspiration from Liam Neeson in creating Optimus Prime's body language.

Neeson appeared as Alistair Little in the BBC Northern Ireland/Big Fish Films television drama Five Minutes of Heaven, which tells the true story of a young Protestant man convicted of murdering a Catholic boy during The Troubles.

He starred in the action film Taken in 2008, which was a French film also starring Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace. It is based on a script by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen and was directed by Pierre Morel. Neeson plays a retired Central Intelligence Agency operative from their elite Special Activities Division who sets about tracking down his teenage daughter after she is kidnapped for sexual slavery while traveling in Europe. Taken was a huge worldwide box office hit, grossing $223,882,658 worldwide and making almost $200,000,000 more than its initial budget. He again gave his voice to Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008).

Neeson has wrapped filming the psychological thriller After.Life with Christina Ricci and Justin Long. He also provided a voice for Hayao Miyazaki's anime film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, which received an August 2009 release.

In 2010, Neeson played the Greek God Zeus in the remake of the 1981 film, Clash of the Titans. The film went on becoming a huge box office hit and grossing $475 million worldwide.

Neeson also starred in the erotic thriller Chloe, theatrically released by Sony Pictures Classics on March 26, 2010. Chloe had enjoyed commercial success and became director Atom Egoyan's biggest moneymaker ever. Later the same year, he played John "Hannibal" Smith in the spin-off movie from the TV series The A Team.

In 2010, Neeson voiced the character Aslan again in the sequel The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. In late 2010, Neeson stated, "Aslan symbolises a Christlike figure, but he also symbolises for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries"; this disappointed many fans of the series, who felt that he was "destroying the author's legacy to be politically correct".

In 2011, Neeson starred in Unknown, a German British American co-production of a French book, it was filmed in Berlin in early 2010. It has been compared to Taken, which was set in Paris. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film enjoyed box office success in the United States. It was largely funded by Dark Castle entertainment with smaller amounts coming from the Berlin film agency

He has played several characters based on real people, including Schindler, Collins, and Kinsey.

He was also set to reunite with director Steven Spielberg and star as Abraham Lincoln in the film based on the book Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. In preparation for the role, Neeson visited Washington, D.C., Springfield, Illinois where Lincoln lived prior to being elected, and read Lincoln's personal letters. He also visited Ford's Theatre, where the President was shot. However in July 2010 Neeson said in an interview with GMTV “I’m not actually playing Lincoln now. I was attached to it for a while, but it’s now I’m past my sell-by date.” He was later replaced in the role by two-time Academy Award winner, Daniel Day-Lewis.

Director Lee Daniels has confirmed that Neeson will play former U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson in Daniels' developing film Selma, which is about Martin Luther King, Jr., Johnson, and the civil rights marches.

Neeson also starred as Ben Ryan in the drama Before and After alongside Meryl Streep. This film was about how a family dealt with the aftereffects of a murder their son was accused of committing.

It was announced in July 2010 that Neeson would guest-star on the new Showtime series The Big C.

It was announced that Liam Neeson would reprise his role as Ra's Al Ghul for the film: The Dark Knight Rises. While a younger version of his character is played by Josh Pence. He narrated the first trailer for the film that was released in July of this year.

Personal life

Neeson was married to actress Natasha Richardson from 3 July 1994 until her death on 18 March 2009, when she suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident at the Mont Tremblant Resort in the Canadian province of Quebec. Richardson and Neeson have two sons: Michael and Daniel. Neeson lives in Millbrook, New York. In August 2004 Neeson and his wife purchased an additional 16 acres next to their estate.

A heavy smoker earlier in his career, Neeson has since quit smoking. When he took the role of Hannibal for the 2010 film adaptation of The A-Team, Neeson had reservations about smoking cigars (which is a signature trait of the Hannibal character) in the film due to being an ex-smoker, but agreed to keep that personality trait of Hannibal intact for the film. In August 2009, Neeson stated on ABC's Good Morning America that he had been naturalized as a United States citizen.

Neeson is a fan of Liverpool F.C.

In March 2011, Neeson was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.

Honours and awards

Neeson was offered the 'Freedom of the Town of Ballymena' by Ballymena Borough Council, but because of objections made by members of the Democratic Unionist Party regarding his comments that he had felt like a 'second-class citizen' growing up as a Catholic in the town, he declined the award, citing tensions. Neeson continues to practice the Catholic faith and has raised his children as Catholics. He has also expressed admiration for The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola.

He was appointed as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in her 1999 New Year's Honours List. The American Ireland Fund honoured Liam Neeson with their Performing Arts Award for the great distinction he has brought to Ireland at their 2008 Dinner Gala in New York.

Filmography

! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
1978		Evangelist and Jesus Christ
1979		Greatheart
1981		Gawain
1982	Merlin and the Sword	Grak	alternate title Arthur the King
1983		Kegan
	The Bounty	Charles Churchill
Ellis Island	Kevin Murray	TV mini-series
		Michael Lamb
		Fielding
Duet for One	Totter
		Carl Anderson
A Prayer for the Dying	Liam Docherty
		Martin Falcon
	Martin Brogan
The Dead Pool	Peter Swan
	Leo Cutter
1989		Briar Gates
	Darkman	Peyton Westlake/Darkman	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actor
The Big Man	Danny Scoular
1991		Tony Aaron
	Husbands and Wives	Michael Gates
	Will
Shining Through	Franz-Otto Dietrich
		Ethan Frome
Ruby Cairo	Dr. Fergus Lamb	released on video as Deception
Schindler's List	Oskar Schindler	Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated — Academy Award for Best ActorNominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
1994		Dr. Jerome 'Jerry' Lovell
1995		Robert Roy MacGregor
	Ben Ryan
		Jean Valjean
	Narrator
		Dr. David Marrow
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace	Qui-Gon Jinn	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actor
		Charlie Mayo
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition	Narrator
2001	Journey into Amazing Caves	Narrator
	K-19: The Widowmaker	Mikhail Polenin
Gangs of New York	'Priest' Vallon
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones	Qui-Gon Jinn	voice only, uncredited
Evolution: What About God?	Narrator
	Love Actually	Daniel	Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
Coral Reef Adventure	Narrator
2004		Alfred Kinsey	Irish Film and Television Awards#Awards in acting 3
	[[The Simpsons	Father Sean
Batman Begins	Henri Ducard/Ra's al Ghul	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Father Liam
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe	Aslan	voice
	Seraphim Falls	Carver
The Birth of Christ	Narrator
	The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian	Aslan	voice
	Peter
Fallout 3	James (Dad)	Video game (voice)
	Bryan Mills
	Five Minutes of Heaven	Alistair Little
	Fujimoto	voice (English dub; original Japanese version 2008)
After.Life	Eliot
	David
		Zeus
	Narrator
	John "Hannibal" Smith
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader	Aslan	voice
The Next Three Days	Damon	Special Appearance
The Wildest Dream	Narrator
		Dr. Martin Harris
	Qui-Gon Jinn	Special Guest Voice, Season Three episodes Overlords and Ghosts of Mortis
		Ottoway	Post-production
Wrath of the Titans	Zeus	Post-production
	Admiral Shane	Post-production
The Dark Knight Rises	Ra's al Ghul	filming
	Taken II	Bryan Mills	Pre-production

References

External links

ITV Local Interview at premiere of Taken

The American Ireland Fund Performing Arts Award 2008

Liam Neeson Interview for "The A Team"

Liam Neeson is Today's Greatest Action Hero

Category:1952 births Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Category:Bohemian F.C. players Category:Immigrants to the United States from Northern Ireland Category:Film actors from Northern Ireland Category:Television actors from Northern Ireland Category:Irish film actors Category:Irish television actors Category:Irish voice actors Category:Living people Category:Expatriates from Northern Ireland in the United States Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Ballymena Category:People from County Antrim Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States

ar:ليام نيسون an:Liam Neeson zh-min-nan:Liam Neeson bg:Лиъм Нийсън ca:Liam Neeson cs:Liam Neeson cy:Liam Neeson da:Liam Neeson de:Liam Neeson el:Λίαμ Νίσον es:Liam Neeson eu:Liam Neeson fa:لیام نیسون fr:Liam Neeson ga:Liam Neeson gl:Liam Neeson hr:Liam Neeson id:Liam Neeson it:Liam Neeson he:ליאם ניסן sw:Liam Neeson la:Gulielmus Neeson hu:Liam Neeson nl:Liam Neeson ja:リーアム・ニーソン no:Liam Neeson pl:Liam Neeson pt:Liam Neeson ro:Liam Neeson ru:Нисон, Лиам sq:Liam Neeson simple:Liam Neeson sk:Liam Neeson sl:Liam Neeson sr:Лијам Нисон sh:Liam Neeson fi:Liam Neeson sv:Liam Neeson tl:Liam Neeson th:เลียม นีสัน tr:Liam Neeson uk:Ліам Нісон zh:連恩·尼遜

Coordinates	24°32′″N96°53′″N
name	Stephen Merchant
birth name	Stephen James Merchant
birth date	November 24, 1974
birth place	Bristol, England
occupation	ActorDirectorWriterRadio presenter Comedian
yearsactive	1998–present
height	6 ft 7 in }}

Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the co-host of The Ricky Gervais Show in its radio, podcast, audiobook and television-show forms. The Ricky Gervais Show in radio form has won a bronze Sony Award. He is also due to be appearing in the new TV series Life's Too Short. He voiced the character Wheatley in the popular 2011 video game Portal 2.

Early life

Merchant was born in Bristol, England, the son of Jane Elaine (née Hibbs), a nursery nurse, and Ronald John Merchant, an insurance representative. He attended Hanham High School. As he has described in Xfm London shows and podcasts, Merchant was a very shy child, tending to focus more on school work as opposed to sport. His school yearbook predicted that he would enjoy success. Merchant has also described his relatively normal childhood, which is often contrasted with that of his friend Karl Pilkington. Merchant is a graduate of the University of Warwick, and a former film reviewer on the student radio station, Radio Warwick, where he began his broadcasting career. The station's 1995/96 yearbook tipped him for great things: Members of Merchant's "posse" included film critic James King, Dan Warren, Neil the Maskell and Geraint the Welshman. Recently, a number of tapes of "The Steve Show", recorded at the time, have been rediscovered and are being distributed on various Merchant fansites. He graduated with a first class degree in Film and Literature in 1996.

Career

Pre-2001

Merchant began his career performing stand-up comedy at Bristol's Comedy Box, where, he recalls, "The first week I did really well ...The second week I died on my arse. I realised that stand-up was not that easy after all." He also appeared as a contestant on a 1997 episode of the TV game show Blockbusters and worked for a short time as a DJ for Radio Caroline.

Merchant met Ricky Gervais for the first time in 1997, when Gervais (then in the position of "Head of Speech" at the London radio station Xfm) hired Merchant as his assistant. (Gervais said later that he had called Merchant for an interview simply because it was the first CV handed to him.) Merchant and Gervais hosted a Saturday afternoon radio show together from January through to August 1998, when both of them left XFM as it was bought by the Capital Radio Group. In the same year, Merchant was a finalist at the Daily Telegraph Open Mic Awards.

Merchant did a total of 7 years on XFM 104.9. The Saturday show never had a large audience; Gervais says "It's a tin pot radio station... It's not even the biggest radio station in the building." Merchant created the features 'Hip Hop Hooray', 'Make Ricky Gervais laugh' and 'Song for the Ladies.'

After leaving XFM, Merchant began a production course at the BBC. As part of his coursework, he enlisted Gervais to perform in a 30-minute short film, "Seedy Boss," which became the earliest inspiration for their sitcom The Office. They collaborated on a sitcom pilot called Golden Years featuring a manager suffering a mid-life crisis; the pilot aired on Channel 4's Comedy Lab series in September 1998, but failed to find further success.

2001–03 (The Office and return to XFM)

In summer 2001, BBC Two aired the first series of The Office, co-written and co-directed by Merchant and Gervais and starring the latter as paper sales office manager David Brent; the show initially received low ratings. Beginning in September, Merchant and Gervais returned to Xfm as co-hosts of The Ricky Gervais Show, another Saturday afternoon program, which led to their fruitful relationship with producer Karl Pilkington.

They took a break from the radio show in mid-2002 in order to film the second series of The Office, which aired that autumn; in addition to writing and directing the show, Merchant made a cameo performance in the episode "Charity" as a friend of Gareth Keenan's character known by the name Oggy or Ogmonster. (Merchant's father also appears in multiple episodes as an office handyman named Gordon.) Merchant also directed a sitcom pilot called The Last Chancers, which aired on Comedy Lab in November 2002 and became a five-part series broadcast in December on E4.

Merchant and Gervais continued to host The Ricky Gervais Show through 2003, taking another break to film the Office Christmas special, which aired that December. The radio show went off the air indefinitely in January 2004. During 2004, Merchant appeared in a recurring role as a chef on Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and in a cameo on Green Wing, and served as a script associate on the Chris Morris and Charlie Brooker sitcom Nathan Barley. The same year, The Office aired in the U.S to critical acclaim. It went on to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy which both Merchant and Gervais accepted.

This was followed in 2005 by a 4th series of the radio show, consisting of six episodes.

US series of The Office

In March 2005, the American version of The Office premiered, with Merchant and Gervais credited as executive producers. They would later co-write the third-season episode "The Convict", and Merchant would direct the fifth-season episode "Customer Survey".

Podcast series

In December 2005, with sponsorship by The Guardian, Merchant, Gervais and Pilkington began recording a weekly podcast (also called The Ricky Gervais Show). Throughout its first series (through 20 February 2006), the podcast was consistently ranked the most popular in the world, and was certified as the most-downloaded of all time by Guinness World Records. Two more series and three special instalments (the "Podfather Trilogy") were recorded in 2006, with the final episode released on Christmas Eve. In late 2008, they recorded four more podcasts and began a series of audiobooks examining Pilkington's perspective on various subjects.

Extras

In July 2005, following a brief return of the XFM radio show (filling in for Adam and Joe), Gervais and Merchant's new sitcom Extras premiered on BBC2. The series features Merchant in a supporting role as Darren Lamb, the incompetent agent to struggling actor Andy Millman, played by Gervais. Series 2 of Extras aired in late 2006, followed by a Christmas special in December 2007; all three instalments aired on HBO in the United States. Merchant won a 2006 British Comedy Award for Best TV Actor for his performance as Lamb.

The Steve Show

In January 2007, Merchant began hosting his own radio show on BBC 6 Music, airing weekly on Sunday afternoons. Instead of comedy, The Steve Show focused on music and particularly "new music," defined by Merchant as "music you've not heard before." Many of the songs on the show were suggested by listeners or co-presenters. In addition to Merchant, the show featured several of his friends, including his housemate Dan, his childhood friend Harry, and actor Rufus Gerrard-Wright (who also appeared in an episode of Extras). A spring search for a "she-J" resulted in the addition of former Byker Grove actor Sammy T. Dobson joining the ensemble. "The Steve Show" aired for four seasons and concluded in May 2009; the presenters continue to contribute to a music blog called the Steve Show Posse.

Stand-up

Merchant will begin his first nationwide tour of the UK, Hello Ladies..., in September 2011, with a stop in New York as well.

Other work

Merchant has played small roles in the films Hot Fuzz (2007), Run Fatboy Run (2007), and The Invention of Lying (2009), the latter starring Ricky Gervais. He has a supporting role in the 2009 film Tooth Fairy. On television, Merchant made a cameo appearance in a non-speaking role on the sixth season premiere of 24; he also starred as a sports commentator in the unaired pilot No Skillz. Additionally, Merchant provides the voice-over in 2009 advertisements for Barclays and Waterstone's.

In 2009, Merchant and Gervais collaborated on the film Cemetery Junction, set in working-class England in the 1970s. The film was released in April 2010 to generally mixed to positive reviews.

In September 2010, Merchant produced a television show alongside Ricky Gervais starring Karl Pilkington called An Idiot Abroad.

In July 2010, filming finished for the pilot of Life's Too Short, written by Ricky Gervais and Merchant, who will both cameo alongside the show's star, Warwick Davis. In 2011, he lent his voice to the CGI film Gnomeo and Juliet, and had a role in the Farrelly brothers' comedy Hall Pass.

In January 2011, Stephen appeared at the 'Free Fringe Benefit' at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London. A show of stand-up to benefit the Free Fringe at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, alongside comedians Jeremy Hardy, Michael Legge, Robin Ince, Mitch Benn, Isy Suttie, Bennett Arron, Andy Zaltzman and founder Peter Buckley Hill. He also stated on the recent free podcast The Ricky Gervais Guide to...Comic Relief that he will be touring his first solo stand up tour later in the year.

On Film 2011's Questionnaire feature, broadcast on 2 March 2011, Merchant described his favourite film as The Apartment (1960), his guilty pleasure as Con Air (1997), the film he cried at as The Bridges of Madison County, and the film he didn't get as The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

Merchant provides the voice of Wheatley in Valve's 2011 video game Portal 2, a role which earned him widespread acclaim among reviewers. While he states his work on the project as "exhausting", Merchant is also "very pleased by the response people have had to it. What I was really pleased by how people seemed to respond to it in the way they do with a movie they've enjoyed, or a TV show they've enjoyed."

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2007	Hot Fuzz	Peter Ian Staker
2007	Run Fatboy Run	Man with Broken Leg
2009	The Invention of Lying	Man at the Door
2010		Tracy
2010		Dougie Boden	Also Writer/Director
2010	Jackboots on Whitehall	Tom	Voice Only
2010		Holyrood Footman
2011		Gary
2011	Gnomeo and Juliet	Paris	Voice Only
2012	Movie 43	Donald

Television

Year	Show	Role	Notes
2002	The Office	The Ogg Monster	Writer/Director
2004	Garth Marenghi's Darkplace	Chef	Episode 2 – Cameo
2004	Green Wing	Lab Technician	Episode 6 – Cameo
2005	Extras	Darren Lamb	Writer/Director
2010–	An Idiot Abroad	Himself
2010–		Himself
2011	Life's Too Short	Version Of Himself	Writer/Director
2011	Ronnie Corbett's Comedy Britain	Himself	Guest

Game

Year	Game	Role	Notes
2011	Portal 2		Voice Only

Awards

!Awarding Body/Event	!Awarded
! BAFTA Awards		* 2002 Situation Comedy Award The Office	* 2003 Situation Comedy Award The Office	* 2004 Situation Comedy Award The Office
! British Comedy Award		* 2006 Best TV Comedy Actor Extras
! Broadcasting Press Guild		* 2002 Best Writer The Office	* 2003 Best Writer The Office
! Emmy		* 2006 Outstanding Comedy Series The Office
! WGA Award		* 2007 Best Comedy Series The Office

Personal life

Merchant spent two years dating digital advertising producer Claire Jones, although their relationship reportedly ended in 2009. Merchant is an atheist.

Appearance

Merchant's considerable height (6ft 7in; 2.01 m) has been a source of humour and teasing throughout his life. He made a cameo appearance in The Office, playing a character nicknamed the Ogg-Monster, whom David Brent called "a big lanky goggle-eyed freak". His height, and also dance moves, have attracted comments from several sources. The Daily Mail newspaper described him as a "giant albatross hopping on stilts" as he danced in a London pub (although Merchant denied this during an episode of the Ricky Gervais Show, stating that he did not take to the dance floor on that occasion). While discussing what the Daily Mail had said on the show, friend and collaborator Ricky Gervais has likened him to an "upright lizard being given electro-shock treatment" and a "stick insect with glasses" or Beaker from The Muppet Show. Radio producer and co-host of Merchant, Karl Pilkington, has described his moves as a "bit of weird art" in the past, while British comic and broadcaster Russell Brand has likened him to a "graceful grasshopper". Merchant has commented that he prefers to liken himself to fellow tall man and English football player, Peter Crouch who is also six foot seven inches. Merchant impersonated Crouch in a BBC sketch broadcast as part of the pre-match build-up to England's opening game at the 2006 World Cup.

References

External links

Stephan Merchant's official website

Steve's BBC 6Music site

The Steve Show's post-6Music site

Stephen interviewed on BBC Radio Five Live

6Music homepage

Xfm: Stephen Merchant Biography

RaW: Radio Warwick

Tall man, taller success story – interview in The Telegraph – 8 August 2005

Interview with Barbara Ellen in The Observer Magazine – 5 November 2006

Radar Online interview – 11 January 2007

An Englishman abroad

Stephen Merchant interview

Stephen Merchant interviewed by Sophie Elmhirst on New Statesman.

Category:1974 births Category:Alumni of the University of Warwick Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English comedy writers Category:English podcasters Category:English radio DJs Category:English radio personalities Category:English television actors Category:English television directors Category:English television producers Category:English television writers Category:English video game actors Category:English voice actors Category:Living people Category:The Office (U.S. TV series) Category:People from Bristol Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners Category:English stand-up comedians Category:English atheists

be:Стывен Мерчэнт da:Stephen Merchant de:Stephen Merchant nl:Stephen Merchant no:Stephen Merchant pt:Stephen Merchant ru:Мерчант, Стивен sv:Stephen Merchant

Coordinates	24°32′″N96°53′″N
name	Warwick Davis
birth name	Warwick Ashley Davis
birth date	February 03, 1970
birth place	Surrey, England
occupation	Actor
years active	1983–present
spouse
website	http://www.warwickdavis.co.uk }}

Warwick Ashley Davis (born 3 February 1970) is an English actor. Davis is known for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun series of films; other prominent roles include Wicket W. Warrick in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Professor Filius Flitwick and the late Griphook in the Harry Potter movies, Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as well as Nikabrik in the Walden Media version of Prince Caspian and Reepicheep in the BBC television versions of Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Mr Glimfeather the owl in The Silver Chair. Davis has his own sit-com directed by Ricky Gervais 'Life's Too Short'. Davis has a condition resulting in dwarfism, and stands at tall.

Early life

Davis was born in Surrey, England to an insurance broker and his wife. Davis also has a younger sister. He was educated at the City of London Freemen's School. When Davis was 11, his grandmother heard a radio advert calling for people who were 4 ft. tall or shorter to be in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. To Davis, who was a fan of the Star Wars movies, it was a dream come true.

On the set of Star Wars, Mark Hamill bought Davis every single Star Wars figure he didn't have.

Career

He was originally cast as an extra Ewok, but when Kenny Baker, who was originally going to be Wicket, fell ill, George Lucas picked Warwick to be the new Wicket after seeing how he carried himself as an Ewok. Davis based his Ewok movements on his dog, who would tilt his head from side to side whenever he saw something strange. During production on the film, Davis made a "short" mockumentary film about his experience as Wicket, titled Return of the Ewok, made with help from Return of the Jedi's first assistant director, David Tomblin. The unreleased film was a fictional look at his decision to become an actor and act in the movie and his transformation into Wicket the Ewok. Davis reprised his role in the ABC made-for-TV movies Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.

In 1987, Davis was called to Elstree Studios in London to meet with Ron Howard and George Lucas to discuss a new movie project called Willow, which was written with Davis specifically in mind. Willow was his first opportunity to act with his face visible. He co-starred with Val Kilmer in the film, which received a Royal Premiere before the Prince and Princess of Wales. He then moved to television to be in the BBC television adaptation of the classic The Chronicles of Narnia, specifically in Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (as Reepicheep), and The Silver Chair (as Glimfeather) and an episode of Zorro filmed in Madrid.

In 1993, he played the villainous Irish goblin in Leprechaun. He then returned to the Star Wars universe, playing three roles in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace: Weazel, a gambler sitting next to Watto at the Podrace; Wald, who was Anakin's Rodian buddy; and Yoda in scenes where Yoda was walking.

Davis played the role of Professor Filius Flitwick in the Harry Potter films. Davis played a white-mustached Flitwick in the first two movies, and then a black-haired unnamed chorus conductor (presumably Flitwick but not credited as such) for the third installment of the series. In the fourth movie, Flitwick is younger looking, with short, brown hair and a trimmed mustache. In addition to playing Flitwick, Davis played the role of the goblin Griphook in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, despite the role being played previously by fellow dwarf actor Verne Troyer. (Note that Davis's name is misspelled in the closing credits of Hallows Part One as "Davies".)

In 2004, Davis played the character "Plates," in indie film, "Skinned Deep," directed by Special Effects artist Gabriel Bartalos.

In 2006, Davis appeared, alongside fellow Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, in an episode of BBC's comedy series Extras as a satirical version of himself.

Davis starred in the film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as the "body" of Marvin the Paranoid Android (the voice was provided by Alan Rickman). In December 2006, Davis starred in the pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarves at Manchester Opera House, and again in 2007/8 at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

Davis appeared in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, in which he played Nikabrik the Dwarf, adding to his previous involvement in TV adaptations of the Chronicles of Narnia series. He also appeared as a contestant on the 2007 series of Children in Need reality show Celebrity Scissorhands.

Other

In addition to his acting career, Davis is the co-founder, with fellow dwarf actor Peter Burroughs, of a talent agency (Willow Management, founded in 1995) that specialises in representing actors under five feet tall. As of 2004, his agency also began representing actors over seven feet tall who had also suffered from being confined to "niche" roles.

In April 2010 Davis published his autobiography, Size Matters Not: The Extraordinary Life and Career of Warwick Davis, with a foreword by George Lucas.

Davis will star as himself in an upcoming show titled Life's Too Short, written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who will star as well.

Personal life

Unlike most dwarfs (70%) who have a condition called achondroplasia, Davis' dwarfism is caused by an extremely rare genetic condition called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED). He has said the only real drawback to being small was the associated health problems. Of his own dwarfism, Davis has said "As you get older, you can suffer from painful hips, and our joints wear a lot quicker than for people of average height".

Davis's family includes a wife and two children, who live in Yaxley near Peterborough. His wife, Samantha (b. 1971) has achondroplasia, as do his children Annabel (b. 1997) and Harrison (b. 2003). Samantha is the daughter of his business partner Peter Burroughs, and the sister of actress Hayley Burroughs.'

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1982	Return of the Ewok		(unreleased film)
1983	Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi	rowspan=3
1984	Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure
1985	Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
		Goblin Corps
The Princess and the Dwarf
1987	Conor Finans Adventures in Naas
1988		Willow Ufgood
1989		Reepicheep
1990		Glimfeather
1991		Don Alfonso	US. TV series filmed in Spain
1993
1994	Leprechaun 2
1995	Leprechaun 3
		Grildrig	television miniseries
Leprechaun 4: In Space	Leprechaun
1997		Pechet
1998	A Very Unlucky Leprechaun	Lucky
	Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace	Yoda(live action suit)
The New Adventures of Pinocchio	dwarf
The White Pony	Edgar Rod
	The 10th Kingdom	Acorn the Dwarf	television miniseries
Leprechaun: In the Hood	Leprechaun
		Saturday
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)	Professor Flitwick / Goblin Bank Teller
2002		Professor Flitwick
2003	Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood	Leprechaun
		Oberon
	Professor Flitwick
Skinned Deep	Plates
		body of Marvin the Paranoid Android
	Professor Flitwick
Small Town Folk	Knackerman
	himself
2007		Professor Flitwick
	Agent One-Half	Agent One-Half
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian	Nikabrik
Invasion of the Not Quite Dead
		Professor Flitwick
	Santa's Elf
				Grettir	Series 3, Episode 8: "The Eye of the Phoenix"
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1	Griphook	(Closing credits name him Warwick Davies)
					Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2	Griphook/Professor Flitwick
Life's Too Short	Himself	Lead role

References

External links

Warwick Davis Interview at www.sci-fi-online.com

Willow Management

Interview with Liam Swann (MCM BUZZ)

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Actors with dwarfism Category:English child actors Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:People from Epsom Category:People from Yaxley Category:People educated at City of London Freemen's School

da:Warwick Davis de:Warwick Davis es:Warwick Davis fr:Warwick Davis gl:Warwick Davis it:Warwick Davis he:ווריק דייוויס lt:Warwick Davis hu:Warwick Davis ms:Warwick Davis nl:Warwick Davis ja:ワーウィック・デイヴィス no:Warwick Davis nds:Warwick Davis pl:Warwick Davis pt:Warwick Davis ru:Дэвис, Уорик fi:Warwick Davis sv:Warwick Davis

Coordinates	24°32′″N96°53′″N
name	Too $hort
background	solo_singer
birth name	Todd Anthony Shaw
alias	$hort Dawg, Short Dizzle
born	April 28, 1966Los Angeles, California, U.S.
origin	East Oakland, Oakland, California, U.S.
genre	Hip hop, dirty rap, R&B;, alternative rap
occupation	Rapper, songwriter, actor, producer, Youth UpRising mentor
years active	1980-present
label	Jive, Up All Nite, Porter House
associated acts	Ant Banks, MC Breed, Rappin' 4-Tay, Lil' Jon, E-40, Travis Porter, Git Fresh, Snow, George Clinton, Wiz Khalifa, Cee Lo Green, 2pac
website	}}

Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too $hort, is an American rapper, producer, and actor who started his career at the age of fourteen in East Oakland, Oakland, California.

Career

In the early 1980s, Shaw produced custom songs (called "special requests") for people with his high school friend, Freddy B. In 1985, Too Short had his first release, Don't Stop Rappin' which, along with the following three releases, featured raw, simple drum beats from a LinnDrum drum machine. In the early 1990s his beats came from mostly a TR-808 and from mid-to-late 2000s, a TR-909 was used. In 2005, Too Short and Freddie B. formed the label Dangerous Music to regionally distribute his music. Dangerous Music became Short Records, and then Up All Nite Records. With his 1989 release, Life Is...Too Short, he began used replayed established funk riffs (rather than samples) with his beats.

Subsequent work was primarily collaborative, including work with Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and Scarface. One of his noticeable collaborations during this period was on the track "The World Is Filled..." on the classic Notorious B.I.G. album Life After Death; he comes in on the third verse after Diddy and Biggie. Being featured on the album introduced him to a wider audience as well, due to his typical style contrasting greatly with the Mafioso theme of the album. He also appeared on TWDY's hit single "Player's Holiday" from their 1999 debut album Derty Werk as well as the Priority Records compilation Nuthin but a Gangsta Party. After these appearances, he began working on his eleventh album, Can't Stay Away. The album included guest appearances by 8Ball & MJG, Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, Sean Combs, E-40, Daz Dillinger, Lil' Jon, Soopafly, Scarface and B-Legit. Too Short relocated to Atlanta in 1994, but he did not begin working with a more diverse variety of Southern artists until 2000, when he collaborated with Lil Jon. With the 1999 release of Can't Stay Away, Too Short fully came out of retirement and released a number of new albums within the next few years, most of them taking on a crunk or Dirty South type sound, as he had become involved in the Southern rap scene. However, he didn't totally give up on his trademark funk grooves or sexually explicit style. New albums released 2000-2003 were You Nasty (2000), Chase the Cat (2001), What's My Favorite Word? (2002), and Married to the Game (2003). These albums all charted fairly well, as they all were in the top 71 of the Billboard Hot 200, but they didn't do quite as well as Too Short's earlier 1990s releases as none of them reached the top 10.

In 2004, his earlier 1990 single "The Ghetto" appeared on popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on West Coast hip hop radio station Radio Los Santos and the children's television program, Sabrina: The Animated Series, is an 1999 American animated television series based on Archie Comics character, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Given that this was an incredibly popular game at the time, the featuring was acclaimed as a success for Too $hort, both in publicity and in the fame generated by the song.

For his next album, 2006's Blow the Whistle, Too Short now took advantage of the new hyphy rap music that was emerging out of his original home base in Oakland. This saw somewhat of a resurgence for Too Short as it peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200, much better than each of his previous three releases. However, his subsequent releases, such as 2007's Get Off the Stage, have not been as successful. On October 7, 2008 Too Short was honored by VH1 at the fifth annual "Hip-Hop Honors" along with Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Slick Rick and Naughty By Nature.

In 2009, Too Short recorded for Daz Dillinger, Lil' Jon, Soopafly, Scarface and B-Legit. and continues to tour to this day. In 2011, the rapper was featured on Wiz Khalifa's song "On My Level". He featured in Snoop Dogg's 2011 album, Doggumentary in the song Take U Home.

Up All Nite Records

Too Short runs his own record label—Up All Nite Records. Artists on the label include The Pack, Dolla Will, Boo Ski, Eyob Fantay and Li'l J & Boi Payton, FX. In addition to creating Up All Nite Records, Too Short has been a mentor at Youth UpRising, a group serving at-risk youths for several years.

Too Short in film

Too Short played the role of Lew-Loc in the film Menace II Society.

Too Short has also worked in the adult film industry, with the 2003 film Get In Where You Fit In.

Too Short was an interviewee in American Pimp.

In 2005 Too Short starred in and performed the music for America's Sexiest Girls.

Too Short has also appeared in an episode of The Game.

Too Short made a cameo appearance in Jay-z's video for the hit single Big Pimpin'.

Discography

; Studio albums

1983: Don't Stop Rappin'

1985: Players

1986: Raw, Uncut, and X-Rated

1987: Born to Mack

1989: Life Is... Too Short

1990: Short Dog's in the House

1992: Shorty The Pimp

1993: Get in Where You Fit In

1995: Cocktails

1996: Gettin' It

1999: Can't Stay Away

2000: You Nasty

2001: Chase the Cat

2002: What's My Favorite Word?

2003: Married to the Game

2006: Blow the Whistle

2007: Get off the Stage

2010: Still Blowin'

2010: Respect the Pimpin'

2012: Untitled January 24th

; EPs

2010: Respect the Pimpin'

; Collaboration albums 2011: The History Channel with E-40 (Summer 2011)

References

Mixtapes: Pimpin' Inc.

External links

Too Short site by record label Jive Records (requires Flash)

Too Short interview

Too Short interview with GSlaps.com

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:Jive Records artists Category:People from Oakland, California Category:Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area

da:Too $hort de:Too Short es:Too $hort fr:Too $hort ko:투 숏 hr:Too Short it:Too $hort pl:Too $hort pt:Too Short fi:Too Short sv:Too Short