Liam Neeson ensured that a young Thomas Brodie-Sangster didn’t feel uncomfortable during the 2003 movie Love Actually.

Liam Neeson is usually known for his epic action-thriller movies. However, in 2003, Neeson delivered the performance of a lifetime in a holiday-themed movie, Love Actually. Even in 2023, it remains one of the best Christmas movies of all time.

 

Neeson portrays the role of Daniel, who has recently lost his wife and now needs to look after his stepson, Sam. Daniel’s son is portrayed by none other than future Game of Thrones star, Thomas Brodie-Sangster.

Thomas Brodie-Sangster Praised Liam Neeson for Treating Him Like a Son

It’s a well-known fact that Liam Neeson can perform the role of a caring father in action-thriller films. After all, fans consider Neeson’s performance in the 2008 movie Taken as one of the best of his career.

However, even before that, in 2003, Neeson quite literally treated his on-screen stepson, Brodie-Sangster, as his own son. The Game of Thrones star revealed that in a conversation with ABC News (via People Magazine).

Liam was amazing. He treated me like his son. He was absolutely loving to me. He just created this environment where I was very comfortable. At the time I thought, you know, I was pretty much a grownup and I’d been doing this a few years now and I knew what I was doing. I was very serious about it. But looking back, I’d forgotten how small and new I was.

Liam Neeson and Thomas Brodie-Sangster in Love Actually
When Thomas Brodie-Sangster was filming for his role in Love Actually, he was just 12 years old. As the actor mentioned in the excerpt, he believed that he was much older than that.

Moreover, Love Actually was just the 10th project of his acting career. Considering that it’s great to see that Brodie-Sangster didn’t face a tough time when filming.

Kudos to Liam Neeson for treating the young actor as his own son on the set. Keeping that in mind, it’s no surprise that both Neeson and Brodie-Sangster delivered memorable performances in their parts in the Christmas-themed film.

What is Love Actually About?

As the name suggests, the movie focuses on one emotion throughout the story, which is love. All nine interconnected stories of the movie focus on that emotion, but in different ways.

For example, Liam Neeson’s character tries to take charge of his stepson following the loss of his wife. On the other hand, Hugh Grant’s character falls for one of his junior staffers after recently becoming Prime Minister.

Liam Neeson and Thomas Brodie-Sangster in Love Actually
Considering the film was a huge success, a short TV sequel to explore where the characters from the original movie are in their lives was released in 2017.