Our favorite Kick Ass Dad is back this weekend,  and it’s time to be TAKEN with some fun facts about Liam Neeson! 

( Thanks to IMDB.com http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000553/bio#trivia )

• Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#74). [1995]
• Loves fly fishing.
• Was a boxer as a teenager in Northern Ireland, which resulted in getting his nose broken at the age of 15. Nevertheless, he went on to win the Irish Youth Championship. However, a brief blackout after one of his fights caused him to give up the ring for good.]
• Ranked #69 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
• Was considered for the role of James Bond in GoldenEye (1995).
• Attended Queen's University of Belfast for a short while to study physics and computer science, but flunked out.
• He was considered for the role of Van Helsing in Dracula (1992) (and reportedly he very much wanted the role), however, he was turned down when Anthony Hopkins showed an interest in the role and ultimately got it.
• Wanted to be in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) so badly, he didn't even bother reading the script.
• It was his role in Shining Through (1992) as a high Nazi party official that got him noticed by Steven Spielberg, and that eventually led to him being cast as Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List (1993).
• Schindler's List (1993) is ranked #3 on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time.
• Was Oliver Stone's very first choice for the role of King Phillip of Macedonia in Alexander (2004).

• Appeared with Daniel Day-Lewis in The Bounty (1984) and Gangs of New York (2002). He later appeared on stage as John Proctor in a 2002 production of "The Crucible," a role played by Day-Lewis in the 1996 film. After dropping out of Steven Spielberg biography of Abraham Lincoln, he was subsequently replaced by Day-Lewis.

• Regarding some rumors saying that he "felt like a puppet while working on Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)", Neeson said "That's simply not true" and that he had "absolutely no misgivings" about being in "Star Wars", adding that Lucas was was "very good" to work with. "He was clear about what he wanted", said Neeson.
• Suffers from acrophobia ("I get dizzy on a thick carpet" he once quipped to Jay Leno).