The actor grew up in an Irish Catholic household and considered becoming a priest once

SUMMARY

Liam Neeson has been a top actor for over 30 years and remains a significant figure in the movie world.
At the age of 16, he almost traumatized a priest during his teenage confession
He started his confession by admitting usual teenage mistakes like arguing with his mother and fighting with his sister, but the priest stopped him from continuing and called him “evil.”

Liam Neeson has a career of more than 30 years, and he showed his acting chops in various genres. He’s one of the top actors of his era and no doubt, he still remains a significant figure in the movie world.

Hollywood star Liam Neeson
Even though the actor has come a long way, there was a time when he almost traumatized a priest. When Neeson was 16, he went for a confession. That’s when he made an inappropriate one that was also heard by a lady standing there.

Liam Neeson’s Teenage Confession That Left a Priest Traumatized

Liam Neeson with Conan O’Brien

In a conversation with Conan O’Brien (via Team Coco), Liam Neeson shared a humorous anecdote about a teenage confession that left a priest traumatized:
“It was a great event when you had a missionary visiting from Africa. And he’d be there for a week and you’d go to Mass every night. And as an altar boy, I’d be serving at Mass, but to hear your confession from him it was like a big deal.”
He then continued saying that when he went into the room for confession with a clergyman, he saw a group of “old women just outside the confessional kneeling down and saying their prayers.” The Ice Road star then told a hilarious incident:
“So we start, and I had learned how to pleasure myself at home, onto the sheets, right? I had looked up the appropriate word. I remember that … ‘Masturbate?’ ‘Masturbation?’ Okay. That seems harmless enough.”
Neeson started his confession by admitting usual teenage mistakes like arguing with his mother and fighting with his sister. The priest was shocked and started shouting at the young future action star, yelling: “YOU WHAT!?”

He then recalled and told the host that the priest said things like, “The grass will grow over the palm of your hand before you’re 21! Stop that evil practice!’”

After hearing this, young Neeson left the door in a hurry, “That was the last time I ever went [to confession],” the Hollywood actor admitted.

Liam Neeson About Christian Faith and Career Alignment

Liam Neeson as Father Cristóvão Ferreira in Martin Scorsese’s film Silence

Liam Neeson has opened up about his Christian faith many times. He even narrated a CNN documentary called The Pope back in 2018.

Neeson grew up in an Irish Catholic household, where he served as an altar boy. At one point, he even considered becoming a priest before pursuing a career in Hollywood.

He shared with Movie Guide in 2014 that his career aligns with his faith and that there is “a little light that goes off in my head when I read a script that’s faith-based in some way.”

The Love, Actually actor also said, “The Church has always appealed to him in some way,” especially when he became an actor.