Interview with Liam Neeson on Dawn Treader, Indiana Jones 5, The A-Team 2

I sat down with Liam Neeson to discuss The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It was early in the morning on December 2, and I had a list of questions ready.  I decided that I’d start out with the typical Narnia ones that he was probably getting all morning, and see where the conversation went.  I also included a few questions to catch him off guard, and managed to get some great responses.  (I’m a fan of Indiana Jones, for those that didn’t know, so I couldn’t resist that question.)

I wrote this earlier on Facebook in response to a question as to how these interviews worked: Basically, they had a few hotel rooms converted to use for filming interviews and had a list of all of the press that were going to do interviews. Everyone had only 5 minutes.

If Liam doesn’t look that excited to talk to me, it’s because he was tired. He was out late doing interviews the evening before, and this was early the next morning. I was probably the 15th interview that day.

You basically are brought over to a chair to wait in the hall while the prior interview begins. (Side note: Ben Barnes and Billy Connolly both came by while I was sitting there. Spoke to Barnes, but not Connolly who was there doing press for Gulliver’s Travels on the same floor.)

You then walk in, and they have two cameras and they introduce you to the talent, and inform them of who you are with. You then get your 5 minutes to interview them.

I was extremely nervous, and I know he could tell that, but he was very accommodating. He became even moreso after I didn’t ask him the same thing that everyone else was asking (which I learned by talking to the others that were interviewing him). From what I understand, he was the same with all of the interviews that morning. Everyone was saying that he was a hard interview that day.

I could also have edited the interview to make it more fast-paced like others have done, but I figured I’d post it as it was done. It’s more honest that way.

It was very difficult coming up with questions for someone that is basically recording a voice for the project, and nothing more. If I could have had a five minute warm up where I could just chill with him for a while and talk about things, then film the interview, I would have understood his personality better and been able to interview him better. (All talk shows do rehearsal interviews most of the time.)

After the interview, you just shake his hand, and thank him for his time, and then leave.

It’s very routine for them, and I felt bad that he had to face the firing squad of questions all morning long, after the prior evening, and then again that evening.