Gibson’s name was just one of many considered for the role.
“I heard Harrison Ford’s name. Costner’s name. The Australian actor Jack Thompson — I thought, ‘Oh, yeah, Jack looks very like Schindler’” Liam Neeson, who would eventually be cast as Schindler told The Hollywood Reporter.
“A lot of people were interested in playing Schindler, and a lot of them were movie stars, and to all of them I promised never to divulge any of their history with me, so I’m not saying those names are accurate,” Spielberg said. “I’m saying there were a number of people, even more than the names you gave me.”
Ovitz said Gibson’s chances were nonexistent because Spielberg was interested in a “non-movie star for the part.”
It wasn’t until Spielberg, his wife, and mother-in-law saw Neeson in Anna Christie on Broadway that he knew Neeson had to be the lead.
“After the show, we went to meet him backstage. Kate’s mom, who was uncensored, looked at Liam and almost burst into tears. She just adored him in that performance.”
“Kate kept elbowing me in the side. ‘That’s him! That’s him!’”
“The mythological story is, Kate said to Steven when they were driving home, ‘That’s just what Schindler would have done, was give my mother a hug!’” Neeson said.
Schindler’s list went on to earn 12 Oscar nominations, winning seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Neeson was nominated for Best Actor.
In 2006, Gibson faced controversy when he yelled an anti-Semitic slur at a police officer while he was under arrest for a DUI. He later apologized saying, “I acted like a person completely out of control … and said things I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed.”
