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6 Hollywood Stars Who Totally Reinvented Themselves

This week brings us Run All Night, the latest in a long line of Liam Neeson-powered action thrillers, but any cinephile out of college will tell you that the actor used to be known not for kicking ass but contending for Oscars and BAFTAs. That's right - though the next generation might know him as Qui-Gon Jinn and Bryan Mills, he's also portrayed the likes of Oskar Schindler and Alfred Kinsey.

1) Liam Neeson

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Where he started: After a stint on the stage, Neeson really broke into the mainstream with his role as Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed Schindler’s List, all the way back in 1993. Earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, he cemented his status as a tremendous new dramatic talent on the scene, and follow-up roles in Nell and Michael Collins seemed to ensure Neeson would be locked into heavy, dramatic roles for the rest of his career.

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Where he ended up: Run All Night opens this month, and it’s the eighth action pic since 2008’s Taken headlined by Neeson. With his intimidating frame and gravelly voice, he’s carved out quite a niche for himself as that brooding loner with a very particular set of skills, who’ll take on any opponent no matter the odds and come out on top. Credit Neeson with this, though – for every Unknown and Taken sequel, he’s used his newfound status as big screen badass to power some thrilling yet distinctive films, from philosophical survival tale The Grey to crime noir A Walk Among the Tombstones.

Transformative role: Bryan Mills, Taken