name	Taken
director	Pierre Morel
producer	Luc Besson
writer	Luc BessonRobert Mark Kamen
starring	Liam NeesonMaggie GraceLeland OrserJon GriesDavid WarshofskyKatie CassidyHolly ValanceFamke Janssen
music	Nathaniel Mechaly
cinematography	Michel Abramowicz
editing	Frédéric Thoraval
studio	EuropaCorp
distributor	20th Century Fox
released	(UK) (US)
runtime	93 minutes
country	France
language	English
budget	€19 million (approx. US$26.5 million)
gross	$226,830,568 }}

''Taken'' is a 2008 action thriller film produced by Luc Besson, starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, and Famke Janssen. The screenplay is written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, and was directed by Pierre Morel. Neeson plays Bryan Mills, a former Central Intelligence Agency SAD operative who sets about tracking down his daughter after she is kidnapped by Albanian sex traders while travelling in France.

Plot

Highly-trained and skilled CIA officer-hitman Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) has retired in an effort to build a closer relationship with his 17 year old teenage daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). His frequent absences made him a distant father and led to his divorce. Knowing Kim wants to be a singer, Bryan buys her an expensive karaoke machine for her 17th birthday, which she is pleased with; Kim's wealthy stepfather Stuart (Xander Berkeley), however, upstages Bryan when he surprises her with a horse. Later, Bryan's former colleague, Sam (Leland Orser), hires him to help provide concert security for a pop singer, Sheerah (Holly Valance). While backstage before the concert, Bryan voices Kim's interest in becoming a singer, to which Sheerah offhandedly replies, "Tell her to pick another career." After the concert, a mob of fans rush through an open gate and security holds them back while Bryan escorts Sheerah to the SUV transport. A knife-wielding assailant pops out of hiding and Bryan tidily dispatches him with martial arts skills. Sheerah gratefully offers to help with Kim's musical aspirations if she has talent.

The next day, Bryan's ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen) and Kim set up a lunch in order to persuade Bryan to sign a visa form to allow Kim to travel to Paris with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy), claiming that it is to visit museums. Bryan refuses because he believes Kim is too young and naive to be traveling around Paris with only a 19-year old for company; Kim runs from the table in tears. After Lenore implores him further, he agrees on the condition that Kim follow a strict set of rules he has set for her himself. To his consternation, he discovers at the airport that the girls actually intend to follow U2's Vertigo Tour around Europe and that Lenore knew this all along.

Shortly after arriving in Paris, Kim and Amanda meet Peter (Nicolas Giraud), a charming young and attractive Parisian stranger who suggests sharing a taxi from the airport. Peter learns that they are staying alone in Amanda's cousins' apartment and invites them to a party later that evening. After they part, Peter phones someone and passes along information about the girls. Kim, not knowing that she and Amanda would be alone in the apartment, inquires as to where the cousins are. Amanda says the cousins are on vacation in Spain and giddily announces her plans to have sex with Peter.

Bryan calls Kim and complains that she did not call him. While they are speaking on the phone, Kim sees some men enter the apartment and abduct Amanda and reveals that they shared the taxi with Peter. Bryan starts recording the call, and instructs Kim to hide under the bed and to shout out information about the kidnappers when they come for her. She yells out the description of the men as she is taken. Afterward, Bryan realizes that someone has picked up the phone and is listening, and tells him that if he lets his daughter go, he will not pursue them, but if they take her, "I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you." The listener coldly replies, "Good luck" and destroys the phone. Bryan sends the recording to Sam to have it analyzed; he determines that the abductors are likely part of the Albanian Mafia, which specializes in sex slavery by kidnapping young female tourists. Sam says that the man Bryan spoke to is Marko Hoxha, a mobster boss. He tells Bryan and Lenore a chilling statistic: that they have a rescue window of 96 hours (four days), after which Kim will likely disappear forever. Utilizing Stuart's connections with plane leasing company NetJets, Bryan flies to Paris that very evening.

Upon arrival, he heads to the apartment, where he finds his first clue: a photograph of Peter on the memory card of Kim's smashed cellphone. He finds Peter as he is charming another victim, a young Swedish girl outside the airport. Bryan forces his way into a cab with Peter and attempts to interrogate him about the whereabouts of Kim when Peter's co-spotter attacks him. Bryan subdues him and chases after Peter as he escapes. After a short chase, Peter is struck and killed by a truck on the highway after jumping from the overpass. Bryan then seeks help from an old friend, Jean-Claude (Olivier Rabourdin), previously a field agent with French Intelligence, but now working a desk job. Jean-Claude tells Bryan that the Albanian Mafia has been moving into Paris in large numbers over the years. He then tells Bryan where to start looking, but warns him not to make a mess, soon after he calls someone to tail Bryan. Bryan hires an Albanian-English interpreter, and, to get the attention of the Albanian mobsters, accosts a prostitute, causing one of the mobsters to come over and demand money for two lost clients, not noticing when Bryan plants a listening device on the back of his collar. Using the interpreter, he follows the mobster to a construction site and poses as a worker to enter a makeshift brothel there. He comes across a young, very heavily dosed girl who has his daughter's jacket draped over a chair in her cubicle and he decides to take her with him. After a lengthy car chase, during which several Albanian mobsters are killed and a trailer is destroyed, Bryan loses them, as well as the tail Jean-Claude had secretly placed on him. He checks in at an inn named Hotel Camelia run by a friend and administers an IV to counteract the drugs in the girl's system.

Jean-Claude demands a meeting with Bryan out in the open by the river. When Jean-Claude arrives, his cell phone rings. It is Bryan saying he doesn't trust meeting Jean-Claude (until he gets Kim back). Jean-Claude says his boss hit the roof over the construction site violence and has barely been convinced to authorize a ticket to send Bryan back to America (for previous services aiding the French government) rather than arrest him. Bryan angrily refuses. Meanwhile, Jean-Claude's men have been triangulating the source of Bryan's phone call and home in on its location. There they find a cell phone rigged with a walkie talkie. Bryan is actually on the roof of the nearby Notre Dame de Paris. Back in the hotel, the rescued girl awakens and tells Bryan the address of the house where she met Kim and got the coat. Bryan bluffs his way in using Jean-Claude's business card and pretending to be a corrupt policeman looking for a bribe. He identifies Marko Hoxha, takes him prisoner, and kills the other gangsters. Searching the house, he finds many dead girls in each room. One of them is Amanda, who was killed apparently from an overdosage of heroin, her hands handcuffed to the bed.

Enraged by what he has discovered, Bryan ties Marko to a makeshift electric chair in the basement and interrogates him. Marko's stubbornness and refusal to answer questions breaks under electric shocks and he reveals that Kim was a highly valuable virgin and was sold to a slave dealer named Patrice Saint-Clair (Gérard Watkins). Bryan asks for the address of Saint-Clair which Marko claims he doesn't know. Bryan tells him, "I believe you, but it's not gonna save you," turns on the electricity, and leaves Marko to die, screaming and suffering in agony.

Needing more information, Bryan goes to Jean-Claude's home. Jean-Claude admits to accepting bribes to look the other way and tries to force Bryan at gunpoint to give up his search. However, Bryan, who arrived at the home ahead of Jean-Claude, has taken the bullets out of the gun. He then draws his own pistol and shoots Jean-Claude's wife in the arm to pressure Jean-Claude into giving up Saint-Clair's address. Bryan impersonates a police commissioner to enter an exclusive party at Saint-Clair's mansion, and locates a secret sex-slave auction in the basement where a group of sex slave buyers are present. Kim is the last offering. Bryan forces an Arab buyer to purchase her, but is knocked unconscious before he can get to her. He awakens handcuffed to a steam pipe. After learning Bryan's motive, Saint-Clair orders him killed quietly and leaves. Bryan frees himself, kills Saint-Clair's henchmen, and forces Saint-Clair to divulge Kim's whereabouts by shooting him in the leg and both shoulders. Saint-Clair says she will be brought to a yacht on the Seine owned by an Arabian Shiekh, whom the henchman works for. Bryan then shoots him in the forehead. Upon his arrival, he sees Kim being forced onto the yacht, and pursues it. He stops on a bridge and jumps aboard as the boat passes under and eliminates the guards. After a vicious hand-to-hand fight with the buyer (now revealed to be the boss' assistant) he had intimidated earlier, he enters the master bedroom, where he finds the Sheikh named Raman holding a knife to Kim's neck. Raman offers a negotiation, but Bryan shoots him dead. Reunited with his daughter, Bryan tells Kim that he said he would come for her.

After Kim is reunited with Lenore and Stuart back in Los Angeles, the film concludes with Bryan surprising Kim with a visit to Sheerah's house to help her launch a singing career.

Cast

Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills

Maggie Grace as Kim Mills

Famke Janssen as Lenore "Lennie" Mills

Xander Berkeley as Stuart

Katie Cassidy as Amanda

Leland Orser as Sam

Olivier Rabourdin as Jean-Claude

Holly Valance as Sheerah

Jon Gries as Casey

David Warshofsky as Bernie

Nathan Rippy as Victor

Camille Japy as Isabelle

Ahmed Hadubai as Arab Billionaire

Nicolas Giraud as Peter

Arben Bajraktaraj as Marko

Gérard Watkins as Patrice Saint-Clair

Production

The film was produced by Luc Besson's Europacorp. It was filmed mostly in Paris with about the first 30 minutes taking place in Los Angeles. Recognizable locations in the movie are Staples Center, Los Angeles International Airport in L.A. In Paris, shooting locations were near the Eiffel Tower, the Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, Fouquet's restaurant and the Pont des Arts.

Distribution

''Taken'' premiered in France on February 28, 2008, with releases in the United Kingdom and United States following on September 26, 2008 and January 30, 2009, respectively.

Versions

Pierre Morel stated that the film's United States distributor, 20th Century Fox, forced him to re-edit this film for its US theatrical release so it could receive a PG-13 rating. Later, 20th Century Fox released the original version as an 'Extended Cut' on DVD and Blu-ray. The 'Extended Cut' has more violence which was cut from the US theatrical release.

Reception

On its opening day in the United States, the film grossed $9.4 million, scoring the best opening day ever for Super Bowl weekend. The film has grossed $145,000,989 in the United States and Canada, and $80,460,472 overseas, for a worldwide total of $225,461,461. The film has been compared to the television series ''24'': with Neeson's character compared to Jack Bauer and Grace's role of Kim Mills to Kim Bauer. Xander Berkeley, who played George Mason on ''24'', also has a small role in the film.

The movie, which received mixed reviews from professional critics, stands at a "Rotten" 58% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's critical consensus stating [that] "Taken is undeniably fun with slick action, but is largely a brainless exercise." ''Time Magazine'' said the movie "has nothing more on its mind than dozens of bad guys getting beat up and another one turned into instant roadkill." The ''Washington Post'' described the film as "a satisfying thriller as grimly professional as its efficient hero" and likened the action to the Jason Bourne series. ''Variety'' described the film as a "kick ass, pedal-to-the-metal actioner [...] that wisely doesn't give the viewer any time to ponder the string of unlikely coincidences [...] the film has the forward, devil-may-care momentum of a Bond movie on steroids."

''The Los Angeles Times'', described the premise of ''Taken'' as "a brisk and violent action programmer that can't help being unintentionally silly at times [...] Obviously, ''Taken'' is not the kind of action film to spend much time worrying about its pedestrian script or largely indifferent acting, so it's fortunate to have Neeson in the starring role." Bryan Mills is characterized as "a relentless attack machine who is impervious to fists, bullets and fast-moving cars, he uses a variety of martial skills to knock out more opponents than Mike Tyson and casually kill those he doesn't KO."

''Taken'' was released on DVD in May 2009. As of March 2011, 4,426,766 copies of the film had been sold generating US$68,544,181 in sales.

Sequel

In November 2010, 20th Century Fox officially greenlit a sequel which will be named ''Taken II'', directed by Olivier Megaton. The film is scheduled to be released 2012 or 2013. Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace have signed on to reprise their roles. The director begins filming in October.

References

External links

Category:2008 films Category:French films Category:English-language films Category:French-language films Category:20th Century Fox films Category:2000s thriller films Category:French thriller films Category:Action thriller films Category:Films about prostitution Category:Films set in California Category:Films set in France Category:Films set in Paris Category:Vigilante films Category:Films about abduction Category:Films about organized crime in France

da:Taken de:96 Hours es:Taken (película) fa:ربوده شده (فیلم) fr:Taken (film) id:Taken (film) it:Io vi troverò he:חטופה hu:Elrabolva my:လူမုဆိုးတို့၏ သားကောင် nl:Taken ja:96時間 no:Taken pl:Uprowadzona pt:Busca Implacável ru:Заложница (фильм) sq:Taken (2008) fi:Taken sv:Taken tr:96 Saat zh:即刻救援

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

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name	Maggie Grace
birthname	Margaret Grace Denig
birth date	September 21, 1983
birth place	Worthington, Ohio, US
occupation	Actress
yearsactive	1998–present
website	}}

Margaret Grace Denig (born September 21, 1983), best known as Maggie Grace, is an American actress. Originally from Worthington, Ohio, she dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles with her mother after her parents' divorce. While struggling financially, she landed her first role as the title character in the web-based video series ''Rachel's Room'' in 2001. She went on to earn a Young Artist Award nomination in 2002 with her portrayal of 15-year-old murder victim Martha Moxley in the television movie ''Murder in Greenwich''.

In 2004, Grace was cast as Shannon Rutherford in the television series ''Lost'', on which she was a main cast member for the first two seasons, winning a Screen Actors Guild Award shared with the ensemble cast. Leaving the series, Grace was keen to work more prominently in film having starred opposite Tom Welling in ''The Fog'' in 2005. She appeared in ''Suburban Girl'', ''The Jane Austen Book Club'' (both 2007), and ''Taken'' (2008). She has the lead role of Alice in ''Malice in Wonderland'', a modern take on Lewis Carroll's novel ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. Grace reprised the role of Shannon in two more episodes of ''Lost'', including the series finale.

Early life

Grace was born Margaret Grace Denig in Worthington, Ohio, the second of three children to parents Valinn and Rick Denig, who ran a family jewelry business. Her family lived in a 200-year-old house, the first saltbox house in central Ohio. She attended Worthington Christian Schools from kindergarten through ninth grade and briefly attended Thomas Worthington High School, where she began acting in school plays and community theater, including a Jewish Community Center's Gallery Players' 2000 production of ''The Crucible''. Her parents divorced "amicably" when she was 16 years old, but her mother sought a "fresh start". Grace dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles, California with her mother, while her younger siblings Ian and Marissa continued to live with their father. In Los Angeles, Grace and her mother moved around often as they struggled financially, taking out short-term rents rather than paying for permanent residence while eating a basic diet, as it was all they could afford.

Career

Grace acquired an agent within a week of relocating to Los Angeles and enrolled in acting classes. She landed her first role in ''Rachel's Room'', a 2001 web-based video series about the affairs inside a teenage girl's bedroom that was created by ''Dawson's Creek'' executive producer Paul Stupin. Her next role was on the 2002 television series ''Septuplets'', which was cancelled before the first episode had aired. Her breakout role was on 2002's television movie ''Murder in Greenwich'', based on the true story of 15-year-old Martha Moxley's murder. She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her portrayal of Moxley in the Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special – Leading Young Actress category, but lost to Clara Bryant for ''Tru Confessions''. She went on to feature in minor roles on the television series ''CSI: Miami'', ''The Lyon's Den'', ''Miracles'', ''Like Family'', ''Cold Case'' and ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', and the films ''Twelve Mile Road'' and ''Creature Unknown'', before appearing in 2011's semi hit Zookeeper with Kevin Jamesa.

In mid-2004, Grace's agent sent her the script for the pilot episode of ''Lost''; she was given the role of Shannon Rutherford after a successful audition. She was nominated in 2005 for a Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Breakout Performance – Female for her role on ''Lost'', but lost to ''Desperate Housewives'' Eva Longoria. She lived in Hawaii during the filming of the show's first season, and signed on to star opposite Tom Welling in ''The Fog'', a 2005 remake of the 1980 horror film of the same name, as a character originally played by Jamie Lee Curtis. Though the filming of ''Lost'' was supposed to have ended before ''The Fog'' began, the productions coincided due to ''Lost''s extended season finale and Grace flew between the two sets, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and on Bowen Island in British Columbia, Canada. After ranking at #27 on ''Maxim''s Hot 100 list of 2005, she returned for ''Lost''s second season. Her character was killed off the series in the season's eighth episode, "Collision" when the series' writers began to feel that the character's "story avenues [were] limited". Executive producer Carlton Cuse said that Grace's departure from the show was "sort of a win-win" as she was eager to enter a full-time career in film. After leaving the series, she nevertheless joined the other principal ''Lost'' cast members of season 2 onstage at the 12th Screen Actors Guild Awards where ''Lost'' won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

''Variety'' reported in May 2005 that Grace was in negotiations to play X-Men character Kitty Pryde in the 2006 film ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', but in July, auditions were reportedly being held for her replacement. The role ultimately went to Ellen Page, and Grace later revealed that she had never been contacted about the role and was surprised to read that she was up for the part in question. Grace's next role was in the 2007 independent film ''Suburban Girl'', alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin. In 2007, she starred in ''The Jane Austen Book Club'', based on Karen Joy Fowler's novel of the same name. She is a fan of Jane Austen and had read Fowler's novel when it was released in 2004. When she was given the film's script, she met with the director Robin Swicord, with whom she says she "geeked out", and was given the role of Allegra, an openly lesbian 20-year-old. After the filming of ''The Jane Austen Book Club'' was completed, Grace briefly returned to Hawaii to shoot a guest spot on the ''Lost'' season 3 episode "Exposé". She starred in the 2008 thriller film ''Taken'' with Liam Neeson, who was at the top of a list of male actors Grace wished to work with that she had written just two months before she was cast. She recently played the lead in Simon Fellows' ''Malice in Wonderland'', a modern adaptation of Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. In 2010, Grace starred in the drama ''Flying Lessons'', and appeared opposite Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in James Mangold's film ''Knight and Day'', as well as in ''Faster'', with Dwayne Johnson. Grace's busy schedule prevented her from returning as Shannon in "LA X", the season premiere for ''Lost'''s sixth and final season, but she eventually returned for the series finale "The End". On September 2010, it was revealed that Grace was chosen to play Irina in ''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn''.

Personal life

Grace lived in Honolulu, Hawaii while working on ''Lost'', saying "I love it here, but it's not a place you can really pursue acting." She claimed that, while living in Hawaii, her ''Lost'' co-stars would introduce her to men and that some "would probably have me with a different guy every night." She said that her male co-stars were "mostly very protective" and "very opinionated" when deciding whether she should date certain men; actor Josh Holloway once offered to help her select dates from a portfolio of male models with whom he previously worked. Grace and Ian Somerhalder, her onscreen stepbrother, were rumored to be dating in April 2006 after both had left ''Lost''. When asked about Somerhalder in August, she stated, "Ian's great, I adore him, although I'm only 22 – far too young to even think about having a serious relationship." While still working on ''Lost,'' Grace and Somerhalder adopted a feral cat named Roo which they found "literally dying" in the jungle on the set. She said that the cat is now her "travel buddy." In 2008 and 2009, she dated Blake Mycoskie, a contestant on the second season of ''The Amazing Race'' and founder of TOMS Shoes.

Grace says that the person she is most inspired by is her mother. When asked about her closest friend, she said that she and her mother were more like sisters and that she is "lucky to have an exceptionally cool mum." She is a self-proclaimed anglophile, having written to a pen pal in the Lake District from the age of eight, having first visited England at 13 years old, and admiring a number of British poets as well as William Shakespeare. She calls herself very clumsy, claiming to "trip over my legs all the time," and was jokingly nicknamed "Maggie Graceless" by one of her former castmates. She plays in a Los Angeles kickball league with her friends.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2001	''Rachel's Room''	Rachel Reed
2002	''Shop Club''
2002	''Septuplets''	Hope Wilde	TV series
2002		Martha Moxley	TV movie
2003	''CSI: Miami''	Amy Gorman	Episode: "Spring Break"
2003	''Twelve Mile Road''	Dulcie Landis	TV movie
2003	''''	Haley Dugan	Episode: "Beach House"
2003		Hannah Cottrell	Episode: "Mother's Daughter"
2004		Renee	Episode: "Volunteers"
2004	''Creature Unknown''	Amanda
2004	''Oliver Beene''	Elke	8 episodes
2004	''Like Family''	Mary	Episode: "My Two Moms"
2004	''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''	Jessie Dawning	Episode: "Obscene"
2004–2007		Shannon Rutherford	34 episodes
2005	''''	Elizabeth Williams
2007	''Suburban Girl''	Chloe
2007	''''	Allegra
2008		Kim Mills
2009		Alice
2010		Shannon Rutherford	Episode: "The End"
2010	''Flying Lessons''	Sophie Conway
2010	''Knight and Day''	April Havens
2010	''''	Bay
2010		Lily
2011	''''	Irina	Filming
2011	''Relative Insanity''	Emilie Warnock	Post-production
2012	''Lockout''	Nina	Pre-production
2013		Kim Mills	Pre-production

References

External links

Category:1983 births Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Actors from Ohio Category:People from Columbus, Ohio Category:Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Living people

ar:ماجي غرايس be-x-old:Мэгі Грэйс bg:Маги Грейс ca:Maggie Grace cs:Maggie Grace da:Maggie Grace de:Maggie Grace es:Maggie Grace fa:مگی گریس fr:Maggie Grace ga:Maggie Grace ko:매기 그레이스 it:Maggie Grace he:מגי גרייס lt:Maggie Grace hu:Maggie Grace nl:Maggie Grace ja:マギー・グレイス no:Maggie Grace pl:Maggie Grace pt:Maggie Grace ru:Грейс, Мэгги fi:Maggie Grace sv:Maggie Grace th:แมกกี เกรซ tr:Maggie Grace

birth name	Leland Jones Orser
birth date	August 06, 1960
birth place	San Francisco, California, U.S.
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	1991 – present
spouse	Jeanne Tripplehorn (2000-present) 1 child Roma Downey (1987-1989) (divorced) }}

Leland Jones Orser (born August 6, 1960) is an American film and television actor. Orser is a character actor, whose career has included playing a number of deranged, psychotic, and degenerate characters. Orser has appeared in small roles in a wide variety of films and television shows, including Chief of Surgery Dr. Lucien Dubenko on the television show ''ER''.

Career

Orser made his television debut in 1991 on the show ''Gabriel's Fire''. His next roles were bit parts and small roles on ''The Golden Girls'', ''Cheers'', ''L.A. Law'', ''The X-Files'', ''NYPD Blue'', ''Law and Order: SVU'' and ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. In 1999, he played the (rather demanding) main role of Dr. Arthur Zeller in ''The Outer Limits'' episode "Descent", a part seemingly tailored by writer Eric Saltzgaber for Orser's particular talents. Fans of ''Married... with Children'' know him in his recurring guest role as the cynical director of advertisements.

He has had minor roles in many popular films. He appeared in 1995's ''Se7en'' as the man who was involuntarily recruited as the punisher for the lust sin. He was credited as "Crazed Man in Massage Parlour". He played Larry Purvis in 1997's ''Alien Resurrection''. He played the antagonist Richard Thompson in the 1999 Denzel Washington thriller ''The Bone Collector''. In 2001, he had a small part in the movie ''Pearl Harbor'' playing an injured man saved by Kate Beckinsale's character. In 2003 he appeared in the comic-turned-film ''Daredevil''. He also appeared in ''Saving Private Ryan'' as the traumatized pilot of a crashed glider.

Orser also appeared in various parts in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, among them playing a Changeling posing as the Romulan Colonel Lovok in the ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' episode "The Die is Cast" and in the episode "Sanctuary" playing a bit part as a member of the Skrreean race. He also played a homicidal hologram in the ''Star Trek: Voyager'' episode "Revulsion". And finally in the franchise's most recent series ''Enterprise'', he played a low-life in the time-travel episode "Carpenter Street".

From 2004 to 2009, he played Chief of Surgery Dr. Lucien Dubenko, a recurring character on the television show ''ER''.

Personal life

From 1987 to 1989, Orser was married to actress Roma Downey; he is currently married to the actress Jeanne Tripplehorn and has one child with her.

Filmography

! Year	! Film	! Role	! Other notes
1993	''Cover Story''	Julian
1994	''The X-Files''	Jason Ludwig
	''Baby Face Nelson''	Benny Bakst
''Dead Badge''	Pellman
''Phoenix''	Doctor Riley
''Girl in the Cadillac''	Used car salesman
	Crazed Man in Massage Parlour
	''Invader''	Michael Perkett, NASA
''Escape from L.A.''	Test Tube
	Tech / Medical Assistant #1
''Red Ribbon Blues''	James
	''Excess Baggage''	Detective Barnaby
''Alien Resurrection''	Larry Purvis
	''Very Bad Things''	Charles Moore
''Saving Private Ryan''	Lieutenant DeWindt
		Det. Andrew Hollinsworth
''The Bone Collector''	Richard Thompson
2000	''Rebel Yell''	Billy Idol
2001		Major Jackson
		Wesley Owen Welch
	Lionel Dolby
''Runaway Jury''	Lamb
2004		Edmund Cutler
2006	''The Good German''	Bernie
2008		Sam
2009		Martin Collier
2009	''Give 'Em Hell, Malone''	Murphy

External links

The Alien Resurrection of Leland Orser. Retrieved 10 February 2006.

Leland Orser, Specialty: Skittish Psychos and Otherwise Knock-Kneed Fellows. FameTracker. Retrieved 14 February 2006.

Category:1960 births Category:American actors Category:American film actors Category:Actors from California Category:Living people Category:People from San Francisco, California

de:Leland Orser es:Leland Orser fr:Leland Orser it:Leland Orser ja:リーランド・オーサー pl:Leland Orser

Name	Nik Kershaw
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Nicholas David Kershaw
Born	March 01, 1958Bristol, England
Origin	Ipswich, Suffolk, England
Instrument	Vocals, keyboards, guitar, drums
Genre	Synthpop, Pop rock, New Wave
Occupation	Musician, vocalist, songwriter, record producer
Years active	1983–present
Label	MCA, Koch, Shorthouse
Website	www.nikkershaw.co.uk
Notable instruments	}}

Nik Kershaw (born Nicholas David Kershaw; 1 March 1958) is an English singer-songwriter. The one time jazz-funk guitarist was a mid-1980s teen idol. His 50 weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1984 beat all other soloists.

In July 1985, Kershaw was among the performers at Live Aid, held at Wembley Stadium. His stardom began to wane soon afterwards and he enjoyed only one more UK Top 40 hit. He continued to record and release records, and collaborated with others. Also in 1985, Elton John asked Kershaw to play guitar on John's hit "Nikita".

A cover of "Wouldn't it be Good" by the Danny Hutton Hitters appeared on the soundtrack of the 1986 teen romantic comedy-drama ''Pretty in Pink''. Later the same year, his third album, ''Radio Musicola'', was released to critical acclaim but to little commercial success. It seemed that he had outgrown his original audience with increasingly mature releases; ''The Works'' was released in 1989 to little success.

1990s

His prowess as a songwriter served him well in 1991, when his song "The One and Only" appeared on the soundtrack to the British film ''Buddy's Song'', and in the American movie ''Doc Hollywood''. "The One and Only" proved to be a UK Number 1 for the star of ''Buddy's Song'', Chesney Hawkes. In 1993, The Hollies had a minor hit with another of Kershaw's songs, "The Woman I Love". During the mid 1990s he also wrote and produced material for the boy band Let Loose, with two of the tracks ("Seventeen" and "Everybody Say Everybody Do") achieving reasonable success.

1999 saw the release of ''15 Minutes''. Kershaw revealed that he decided to record the tracks himself, when he could not envisage them being recorded by other artists. The album spawned two singles, including "What Do You Think Of It So Far?", a song described as "an elegant and soaring ode to the transience of time, infused with both self-doubt and an acceptance of life that can only come with maturity".

2000s

The follow-up album, ''To Be Frank'', was released in 2001. Over the years, Kershaw has collaborated on albums with artists such as Elton John, Bonnie Tyler, Tony Banks, Les Rythmes Digitales, Michael W. Smith and Imogen Heap.

In 2005, Kershaw released ''Then And Now'', a collection of earlier material with four new tracks. In 2006, he completed another solo album, ''You've Got to Laugh'', available only through his website or digitally through iTunes. This album contained twelve tracks and was released on the musician's own label, Shorthouse Records. Neither ''Then And Now'' nor ''You've Got To Laugh'' was promoted by a tour. The year also saw the digital re-release of his 1980s back catalogue including ''The Riddle'', ''Radio Musicola'' and ''The Works''.

Kershaw performed at Fairports Cropredy Convention on the 15 August 2009 and the Rewind Festival on 23 August 2009, on Temple Island Meadows at Henley-on-Thames. Kershaw also performed at The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich on 15 November 2009.

2010s

On 13 May 2010 Kershaw appeared on stage and hosted 'Our Friends Acoustic' in aid of Mencap. He performed "The Riddle", "Wouldn't It Be Good", "Dancing Girls" and "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". Other 1980s performers joined him and performed their own songs, including Andy Bell, Carol Decker, Howard Jones, Jimmy Somerville, China Crisis and Steve Strange at The O2 in London.

Personal life

In June 1983 Kershaw married Sheri and they have three children. Nik and Sheri Kershaw separated in November 2003. Nik married Sarah, his girlfriend of four years, in June 2009 and is stepfather to Renee. On June 10, 2010, Kershaw revealed his wife had given birth to a son by posting the message ''"Theodore Douglas Kershaw, born 9/6/2010 at 9:01am. Mum and baby doing just fine."'' on his official Twitter. They now divide their time between their homes near Little Dunmow, Essex and West Cork, Ireland.

Discography

Collaborations

1985 ''Nikita'' by Elton John - Kershaw on electric guitar.

1991 ''Still'' by Tony Banks - Kershaw on lead vocals on "Red Day on Blue Street", "I Wanna Change the Score" and "The Final Curtain". "Red Day on Blue Street" and "I Wanna Change the Score" co-written by Banks and Kershaw.

1993 ''Duets'' by Elton John - "Old Friend" written by Kershaw. All instruments by Kershaw. Vocals by Kershaw and John.

1996 "Walls of Sound" (single) from ''Strictly Inc'' - B-side "Back to You" was co-written by Banks and Kershaw.

1998 ''Live the Life'' by Michael W. Smith - "Let Me Show You The Way" co-written by Kershaw, Smith and producer Stephen Lipson. Also features Smith and Kershaw on guitar.

1999 ''Darkdancer'' by Les Rythmes Digitales - "Sometimes" co-written by Jacques Lu Cont and Kershaw. Lead vocals by Kershaw.

1999 ''This Is Your Time'' by Michael W. Smith - "Hey You It's Me" - co-written by Kershaw and Smith. Backing vocals by Kershaw.

1999 ''The Riddle'' by Gigi D'Agostino - dance music version.

2001 "Island" by Orinoko - co-written by Kershaw.

2010 "Come Out and Play" by Kim Wilde - duet with Kim on the track "Love Conquers All".

See also

List of New Wave bands and artists

List of singer-songwriters

List of synthpop artists

List of performers on Top of the Pops

References

External links

Official Nik Kershaw website

Italian based fansite

Nikography - Nik Kershaw discography & collectors fansite

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:People from Bristol Category:English male singers Category:English New Wave musicians Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English songwriters

da:Nik Kershaw de:Nik Kershaw es:Nik Kershaw fr:Nik Kershaw it:Nik Kershaw he:ניק קרשו nl:Nik Kershaw ja:ニック・カーショウ no:Nik Kershaw pl:Nik Kershaw pt:Nik Kershaw ru:Кершоу, Ник fi:Nik Kershaw sv:Nik Kershaw