Neeson's Saddest Role As He Carries Wifes' Coffin

The big screen star Liam Neeson has said a final farewell to his late wife at her funeral in New York.

In the star's saddest role, he carried his own wife's coffin during the ceremony at the weekend.

It took place at St Peter's Episcopal Church on Sunday near where the successful screen actress Natasha Richardson shared her home with Neeson and their two sons.

Ms Richardson died in hospital on Wednesday after suffering a fatal head injury following a skiing accident in Canada.

Neeson, from Ballymena in Co Antrim, was a pallbearer for his wife's coffin as it was taken from the church.

Among the other mourners where his mother-in-law the actress, Vanessa Redgrave and his two sons, Micheal, 13, and 12-year-old Daniel.

Last week, Neeson attended a dimming of the lights in Broadway in tribute to his wife, a renowned stage and screen actress.

A medical examiner confirmed that Ms Richardson's death was due to a blunt impact to the head.

Neeson is currently taking time off from starring in Atom Egoyan's film Chloe.

He flew from the movie's Toronto to be at his wife's bedside last week.

He was starring opposite Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried as a man whose wife suspects him of having an affair.

It is unclear how many of Neeson's scenes have been completed on the project, which began shooting last month, or whether production can even continue at all without him.

Neeson was also recently being tipped to star in the thriller Unknown White Male, about a doctor visiting Berlin who suffers a mysterious injury that puts him in a coma.

When he awakes, he discovers someone else has stepped into his shoes.

Already produced is Oliver Hirschbiegel's Sundance hit Five Minutes of Heaven.

In this movie Neeson plays a former IRA man seeking forgiveness for his actions during the NI Troubles, while the indie horror After. Life sees him as a sinister funeral director with apparent powers over the dead.

See: Actress Natasha Richardson Dies After Ski Fall

(BMcC/JM)