For director John Boorman’s contribution to “Lumière and Company,” he visited the set of Neil Jordan’s 1996 biopic “Michael Collins,” starring Liam Neeson as the titular protagonist. In period costume, Neeson, Aidan Quinn, and Stephen Rea peer into the ancient camera — a moment that at once exists in the camera’s late 19th century roots, the early 20th century Ireland of “Michael Collins,” and the present-day 1990s.
Neeson’s next 100%-rated project would be far more intentional on the actor’s part. Ken Burns is responsible for some of the most illuminating documentaries of all time, so it’s no surprise that many venerated actors — including Neeson, Matthew Rhys, Paul Giamatti, Meryl Streep, Werner Herzog, Hope Davis, and Bradley Whitford — signed on to work as voice actors in “The U.S. and the Holocaust.”
The subject matter is especially salient for Neeson, who rose to fame playing Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s historical drama, “Schindler’s List.” Despite starring in one of the most famous Holocaust films ever made, Neeson found Burns’ documentary enlightening. “My jaw was down here,” the actor admitted on “The View.” “[There was] information I never knew about.”
