Tony-winning British actress Natasha Richardson died at 45 in March 2009 following a skiing accident, leaving behind husband Liam Neeson and their sons — Micheál, who was 13 at the time, and Daniel, who was 12.
Now, more than a decade later, her eldest child is opening up about his mother and the grief he's struggled to face.
"I think the pain was a little too overwhelming. I think the mind is very powerful, and subconsciously, or unconsciously, it can protect you. That's what it did when she passed. I just pushed it aside and didn't want to deal with it," Micheál Richardson — who dropped his father's last name and took his mother's surname professionally two years ago to honor her — told Vanity Fair in a story that hit the internet on July 29.
"I don't, even still, think that I've fully comprehended it, and that seems to be a similar journey to a lot of people I've spoken to," he added "Fifty-year-olds who lost their parents when they were 12, 13… One day they're out gardening, and something comes over them and they just break down."
Over the last two years, Micheál has processed a lot of those feelings thanks to a new film he's made with his Oscar-nominated dad, Northern Irish actor Liam, 68, that in many ways has paralleled their family's experience. "Made In Italy," which will be released in some theaters and via video on demand on Aug. 7, tells the story of an artist father and son who head to Italy to sell their family's second home after the death of its matriarch, only to be confronted with memories of their wife and mother.
According to Micheál, who's now 25, he's also found a path to healing as he's pursued acting. "I think as I get older, keeping my mom more in mind and doing things to honor her allows me to remember her and to go through the grief, and properly heal," he explained.
He and Natasha, of course, come from a long line of actors: As Vanity Fair points out, his grandmother is Oscar, Tony and Emmy winner Vanessa Redgrave. His grandfather was Oscar-winning filmmaker Tony Richardson. Oscar, Tony and Emmy-nominated actress Lynn Redgrave is his great-aunt, and Golden Globe-nominated actress Joely Richardson (seen here with Micheál in 2018) is his aunt.
"My great-aunt, Lynn Redgrave, was very into our ancestry. She traced our family back to these traveling actors in the 18th century. That's really cool to be carrying that on," Micheál told Vanity Fair. However, he added, "Although we're family, I'm very different from them, and I know I have something different to offer."
It's only in recent years that he's decided to make it his career. Micheál performed in theater productions in middle and high school but initially pursued fashion, completing an internship shadowing tailors on London's Savile Row, Vanity Fair reported. He then realized it wasn't ultimately what he wanted to do.
He's had small roles in 2018's "Vox Lux," his father's 2019 action movie "Cold Pursuit" (though Vanity Fair points out Micheál insisted on auditioning for the part) and in July appeared on the Amazon Prime Video crime series "Big Dogs." "Made in Italy" marks his first starring role.
As for his favorite role of his mother's? While he most loved his dad in "Schindler's List," Micheál's favorite of Natasha's performances was her turn as the loving mother to Lindsay Lohan's twins in the 1998 Disney film "The Parent Trap."
"Just based off of who she is and how I remember her, it has to be 'The Parent Trap,'" he told Vanity Fair. "That's more or less what she was like. She was this sweet, amazing mother figure — my best friend. She had these amazing, big welcomes when we'd come home or she would come home," adding "Darling!" in imitation of his late mom. "I'm so lucky because I have her captured on film."