Liam Aiken

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Liam Aiken
Born (1990-01-07) January 7, 1990 (age 34)
EducationDwight-Englewood School
Alma materNew York University
OccupationActor
Years active1997–present

Liam Aiken (born January 7, 1990)[1] is an American actor. He has starred in films such as Stepmom (1998), Road to Perdition (2002), and Good Boy! (2003), and played Klaus Baudelaire in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), based on the series of books. He also starred in the films Nor'easter (2012), Ned Rifle (2014), The Bloodhound (2020), and Bashira (2021).

Personal life[edit]

Aiken was the only child of Moya Aiken, an Irish-born artist;[2] and Bill Aiken, an MTV producer, who is of Scots-Irish descent.[3] Bill died of esophageal cancer in September 1992, at age 34, when Liam was two years old.[2] Aiken grew up in New Jersey and attended Dwight-Englewood School, graduating in 2008. He then went on to major in film at New York University.[4] As of 2017, Aiken resides in Los Angeles.[2]

Career[edit]

Aiken made his professional acting debut in a Ford Motor Company commercial by Ford Aerostar.[3] He made his stage debut in the Broadway play A Doll's House at the age of seven,[5] and his film debut in Henry Fool (1997). His first major film role came when he starred in Stepmom (1998). He appeared in Road to Perdition (2002) and the family film Good Boy! (2003). He was considered to play Cole Sear in The Sixth Sense (1999), but the role went to Haley Joel Osment.[3] The following year, he was also considered for the role of Harry Potter due to his Irish heritage and Scottish ancestry, as well as his previous work with director Chris Columbus on Stepmom,[6] but Daniel Radcliffe ultimately won the role, due to J. K. Rowling's insistence that the part should go to a British actor.[7]

Aiken went on to play intelligent 12-year-old orphan Klaus Baudelaire in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004). He also appeared in The Killer Inside Me (2010).[8] In September 2011, he appeared in the CBS series A Gifted Man.[9] From 2012 to 2015, he narrated the audiobook versions of All the Wrong Questions, a prequel series to A Series of Unfortunate Events.[10]

In 2012, he portrayed a boy who returns home after being missing for years in Nor'easter, directed by Andrew Brotzman.[11] In 2014, he played the title role in Ned Rifle, the third film in a trilogy that began with Henry Fool and continued with Fay Grim (2006).[12] In 2020, he co-starred The Bloodhound, a mystery film inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe short story "The Fall of the House of Usher."[13]

In 2021, he portrayed an electronic musician who suffering a series of nightmares with bizarre and mysterious appearances in Bashira, directed by Nickson Fong.[14] He also played J.R. in Montauk, directed by Sean Nalaboff.[15]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Henry Fool Ned [16]
1998 Montana Kid
The Object of My Affection Nathan
Stepmom Ben Harrison [16]
2000 I Dreamed of Africa Emanuele Gallmann (age 7) [16]
2001 Sweet November Abner [16]
The Rising Place Emmett Wilder
2002 Road to Perdition Peter Sullivan [16]
2003 Good Boy! Owen Baker [16]
2004 Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Klaus Baudelaire [16]
2006 Fay Grim Ned Grim [16]
2010 The Killer Inside Me Johnnie Pappas [16]
2012 Electrick Children Mr. Will [16]
Girls Against Boys Tyler [16]
Nor'easter Boy/Josh Green [16][17]
2013 Munchausen Son Short film
How to Be a Man Bryan
2014 Ned Rifle Ned [16]
2015 The Frontier Eddie [16]
Weepah Way for Now Reed
Let Me Down Easy Hezekiah Short film
2016 Like Lambs Charlie Masters [18]
2017 The Emoji Movie Ronnie Ram Tech Voice[16]
2017 The Honor Farm Sinclair [16]
2020 The Bloodhound Francis [16][19]
2021 Bashira Andy [20]
2022 A Soldiers Heart Short film[21]
TBA Montauk J.R. previously called Kingfish[22]
it was slated to be released in 2021, but it hasn't been released[15]

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1998, 2007 Law & Order Jack Ericson/Tory Quinlann 2 episodes[16]
2002, 2009 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Robbie Bishop/Jason 2 episodes[16]
2011 A Gifted Man Milo 2 episodes[16]
2013 Mad Men Rolo Episode: "The Quality of Mercy"[16]
2018 I'm Dying Up Here Howard Episode: "Plus One"

Stage[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1997 A Doll's House Bobby Helmer Belasco Theatre[5]

Video games[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Klaus Baudelaire Voice

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Result Work Notes
1999 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor Age Ten or Younger Won Stepmom [23]
2003 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor Nominated Road to Perdition [24]
2004 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor Nominated Good Boy! [25]
2005 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor Nominated Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events [26]
Critics Choice Award Best Young Actor Nominated [27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Rose, Mike (January 7, 2023). "Today's famous birthdays list for January 7, 2023 includes celebrities Nicolas Cage, Kenny Loggins". Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Christopher, Rita (May 31, 2017). "Moya Aiken: Finding the Inner Artist". Zip06.com. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Hill, Logan (December 2, 2004). "Unfortunate Son". New York.
  4. ^ Ja, Irene (September 2, 2008). "Famous faces join campus". Washington Square News. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Liam Aiken". Playbill. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  6. ^ "Rumours raging over American Harry Potter". The Guardian. July 20, 2000. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  7. ^ "Python joins Potter cast". BBC News. October 27, 2000.
  8. ^ "Electrick Children' Stars Rory Culkin & Liam Aiken On Their Roles In The Film & Growing Up Onscreen". IndieWire. February 22, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  9. ^ "A Look at the CBS Series "A Gifted Man" With Patrick Wilson and Jennifer Ehle (Video)". Playbill. May 20, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  10. ^ "When Did You See Her Last?: All the Wrong Questions, Book 2 (Unabridged)". Apple. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  11. ^ Toro, Gabe (April 17, 2013). "Sarasota Film Festival Review: Regret And Doubt Darken Intimate, Haunting Drama 'Nor'easter'". IndieWire. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  12. ^ "TIFF Review: Hal Hartley's 'Ned Rifle' Starring Liam Aiken, Aubrey Plaza, Martin Donovan, Parker Posey & More". IndieWire. September 3, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  13. ^ "Arrow Buys Mystery-Thriller 'The Bloodhound' For English-Speaking Territories – AFM". Deadline. November 10, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  14. ^ "Bashira". Terror Mollins Festival. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Montauk (2021)". SSS Entertainment. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Liam Aiken". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  17. ^ "Nor'easter". Variety. October 21, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  18. ^ "First Wave of Features from 40th Annual Atlanta Film Festival Announced!". Atlanta Film Festival. December 9, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  19. ^ "Arrow Buys Mystery-Thriller 'The Bloodhound' For English-Speaking Territories – AFM". DeadLine. November 30, 2020.
  20. ^ "Horror film 'Bashira' shooting in Buffalo, creating local jobs". News.WBFO. July 25, 2018.
  21. ^ "7/27 6TH SCREENING @ SECOND HOUSE MUSEUM". Goelevent (Montauk Film Festival). Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  22. ^ "Charlyne Yi Boards 'Second Act'; Molly Ringwald Cast In YA Film 'Kingfish'; Robert Scott Wilson Joins 'Relic'". DeadLine. November 8, 2017.
  23. ^ "The 20th Annual Youth in Film Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on November 28, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  24. ^ "24th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  25. ^ "25th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on August 2, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  26. ^ "26th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on March 4, 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  27. ^ "The 10th Critics' Choice Movie Awards Winners And Nominees". Broadcast Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2021.

External links[edit]