LONDON (AP):
ACTOR LIAM Neeson received a royal honour from Queen Elizabeth II yesterday and said he had not been that nervous since meeting one of his heroes, boxer Muhammad Ali, more than 20 years ago.
Neeson, the star of movies such as Schindler's List, Michael Collins and the first episode of the Star Wars series, was given his Order of the British Empire, or OBE, by the queen at Buckingham Palace.
"I've not been so nervous since I met Muhammad Ali. I really was weak-kneed," he said after the ceremony, which involved him and other award winners. "She asked me if the award was for theatre or films, and I said I thought it was for both. She said, 'That's nice'."
Neeson's actress wife, Natasha Richardson, did not attend, remaining at their New York home to look after their two young sons.
"I've got a Green Card and I'm a resident alien in New York," said the Northern Ireland-born actor. Neeson, 50, an amateur boxer during his school days, met Ali, his idol, at London's Dorchester Hotel in 1981.
Neeson's break in acting came at the Lyric Theater in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
"It's been famine and feast," he said. "Now, I get a lot of scripts to choose from."
