Liam Neeson welcomed two sons with his late wife Natasha Richardson

Left: Liam Neeson and his son Micheál Neeson attend the Maison Mais Non launch party on June 2, 2015 in London, England. Right: Liam Neeson and his son Daniel Neeson. .

Liam Neeson’s sons are all grown up — and still enjoy spending time with their famous father.

The Taken star welcomed two children with his wife Natasha Richardson, Micheál Richardson in 1995 and Daniel Neeson in 1996. Natasha died in 2009 at age 45 when Micheál and Daniel were 13 and 12, respectively.

Liam’s boys have two different names for a very special reason — in 2018, Micheál changed his last name to Richardson to honor his late mother.

“I think he did the right thing. It was a lovely homage … Natasha’s family, mother and sisters were very touched by it as indeed I was,” Liam told Andy Cohen on Radio Andy in 2020.

Though becoming a single parent was unexpected and difficult, the famed actor has talked about loving fatherhood. “It’s an ongoing joy being a dad. It’s always a joy, but it’s a joyful worry,” he told Her magazine in 2012. “No matter what age they are, they’re still going to be your little boy or your little girl. And you are a hostage to love.”

After Natasha’s death, whenever Liam was working on a project, his mother-in-law, actress Vanessa Redgrave, would move in to help care for Micheál and Daniel. His sons were also used to his busy career because Liam had been a working actor their entire lives.

“One of them was born on location, so they’re used to Dad being away for long periods of time,” Liam told PEOPLE in 2014. “So far, it’s worked out okay, they’re not damaged.”

The Neeson boys haven’t strayed far from their parents’ careers either. Micheál is an actor — already having starred in a movie alongside his dad — and Daniel studied theater at Tulane University.

Natasha Richardson and her sons Micheál Neeson and Daniel Neeson attend the “Billy Elliot The Musical” opening night on Broadway on November 13, 2008 in New York City. 

“Recently, I’m seeing him as less of a dad and more as a close friend,” Micheál told PEOPLE while promoting his and Liam’s 2020 movie, Made in Italy. “A lot of people think he’s quite intimidating because he’s done all of these action thrillers, but he is just a big, lovable Irish bear. He’s a charmer.”

Here is everything to know about Liam Neeson’s two sons.

Micheál Richardson, 28

Micheál Neeson attends “Somewhere Quiet” premiere during the 2023 Tribeca Festival on June 08, 2023 in New York City. 

Liam and Natasha welcomed Micheál on June 22, 1995, in Dublin.

Despite growing up on sets, seeing his parents in movies wasn’t always a great experience for Micheál — namely, when Liam starred as the Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and his character was killed at the end of the film.

“I watched all their movies, but it was kind of traumatizing at the age of 5 seeing my dad sliced in half by a lightsaber or blown up in an explosion and also kissing somebody else,” Micheál admitted during a 2021 appearance with his dad on The Graham Norton Show.

Micheál did get to be on that Star Wars set though, where he gave his dad a big laugh. Liam happily shared the anecdote of his then 2-year-old son going right up to R2-D2 for a hug, which the Love Actually star told ScreenRant “was just so cute.”

In 2015, Micheál opened up to The Sunday Times about the difficult years that followed his mother’s death. “In my mind, subconsciously, I either pushed it out or stored it deep inside. And so, within the next week I was like, ‘Okay, on with my life.’ ” He said her death eventually caught up to him, explaining, “Things just started going downhill. The people I was with, we were partying a lot. It was dark. I hit rock bottom.”

Micheál worked through his grief and changed his last name from Neeson to Richardson in 2018, telling PEOPLE, “It was a way to honor her and her side of the family and carry on the name.”

Although he eventually began working in Hollywood, Micheál started his career in fashion, interning at Savile Row and Celine before working as a fashion gallery curator. More recently, he’s joined the family business, appearing in 2013’s Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, 2018’s Vox Lux and the 2020 TV show Big Dogs. He’s even starred in two movies with his dad, 2019’s Cold Pursuit and Made in Italy.

Liam insisted there was no nepotism in the Cold Pursuit casting but did explain why acting with his son was so special. “We didn’t have to pretend to have a relationship, do you know what I mean?” he told The Irish Post in 2019. “Micheál is my son and he has got some of my body language and I have got some of his, so I think that comes across. It was a no-brainer with regard to acting with him. It was just having a regular conversation with your boy.”

Liam Neeson and his son Micheál Neeson attend New York Rangers Vs. Boston Bruins game at Madison Square Garden on March 23, 2016. 

Their second film, 2020’s Made in Italy, is about a father and son bonding after the death of the family matriarch. The subject matter hit close to home, but filming became a cathartic experience for the father-son duo.

“When you lose somebody so close to you, sometimes you just push it away and out of your head because the thought of them hurts,” Micheál told PEOPLE in 2020. “But I found that’s an unhealthy thing to do. You have to remember them.”

In 2021, Micheál told The Times that he watches his late mother Natasha’s films to keep her memory alive, explaining, “It [her death] was so sudden … It can send you for a bit of a head spin, and so you just latch on to the tiny little memories, whether it’s her laugh or her energy in the room or her cooking. I do have her films to go back and watch her in, which I’m incredibly grateful for.”

He previously told PEOPLE that his favorite movie of his mother’s was 1998’s The Parent Trap “because I just see her so much as that person.” And he’s proud to be acting, just like she did.

“Now that I’m on this journey that she had gone through herself, I feel like she’s with me,” he told PEOPLE. “I feel closer.”

Daniel Neeson, 27

Liam Neeson and his son Daniel Neeson participate in the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon on November 5, 2023 in New York City.BRYAN BEDDER/GETTY

Liam and Natasha added Daniel to the family on Aug. 27, 1996, in New York City. He went to high school at Fordham Prep and graduated from Tulane University in 2019, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in theater and digital media production, per his LinkedIn.

In 2017, Daniel, a then-junior in college launched an eco-friendly, charitable clothing line called Pine Outfitters. That July, he spoke to WWD about the assumptions behind him starting the brand, admitting that he knew it was “a big cliché … another celebrity son doing a fashion line.”

But he told PEOPLE that his father, who proudly rocked items from the line and talked it up on Live With Kelly and Mark, was “not just a supportive father but he’s been very supportive in terms of the business as well.”

Daniel admitted to PEOPLE that he thought fashion “was honestly the last industry” he’d get into. “I was a massive athlete. I loved to play sports like hockey and soccer, tennis and football and all of that,” he said. “I always wanted to be a producer in the entertainment industry or a hockey player or something like that.”

Liam Neeson and his son Daniel Neeson attend Ottawa Senators vs New York Rangers game at Madison Square Garden on January 20, 2015. 

The Neeson men have long bonded over sports. Over the years, Daniel has been spotted cheering on his hometown team, the New York Rangers, with his brother and dad, including a 2016 game against the Boston Bruins and a 2019 matchup where the younger Neeson rocked a Rangers jersey and coat. The trio has sat courtside at New York Knicks games, too.

While he hasn’t spoken as publicly about his mother as his brother has, Daniel did share an Instagram post in 2018 to commemorate the ninth anniversary of Natasha’s death. “9 years stronger,” he wrote alongside a photo of his mom. “No ones ever gone, they become more alive. Don’t bitch to your moms because they’re super hero’s.”

In 2021, Daniel and his friend Adam Millman debuted an additive-free tequila brand, De-Nada, which his dad has also promoted on talk shows, like Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

In November 2023, Liam supported his son again as Daniel completed the N.Y.C. marathon.