Liam Neeson gives first speech since Natasha’s death

Brit actor Neeson tells students: 'It's time to move on, get on with your life'

Liam Neeson has delivered his first public speech since the tragic death of his actress wife Natasha Richardson. The Brit actor gave a courageous address to an audience at the British consulate in New York – quoting the poet Paul Muldoon to describe how art can help heal the heart.

The bereaved actor spoke after receiving an honorary doctorate from his old college, Queens University Belfast, where he left before graduating.

Addressing students, the father of two described how art ‘builds pain, from misery, from a deep-seated hurt, a monument to the human heart that shines like a golden dome among roofs rain-glazed and leaden.’

Keeping the tone low-key, Neeson appeared nervous as he took to the podium, with his two young sons watching on. He quipped: ‘Everybody assumes that actors are great public speakers. It’s terrifying. Forgive me for reading it.’

The powerful lecture did not shy away from Neeson’s recent sadness as he told students one of the most indispensable lessons he learned from school.

‘I think it is a message that a university always gives its students in the end: It’s time to move on, get on with your life,' he said. 'I got on with mine, and I'm still getting on.'

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