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Liam Pádraic Aiken (born January 7, 1990) is an American actor. He has starred in films such as '' Stepmom'' (1998), '' Road to Perdition'' (2002), and ''
Good Boy! ''Good Boy!'' is a 2003 American science fiction comedy film directed by John Robert Hoffman, John Hoffman, based on the book ''Dogs from Outer Space'' by Zeke Richardson; Hoffman and Richardson collaborated on the screen story, while Hoffman w ...
'' (2003), and played Klaus Baudelaire in ''
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (also simply known as ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'') is a 2004 American black comedy adventure film directed by Brad Silberling from a screenplay by Robert Gordon, based on the first th ...
'' (2004), based on the series of books. He also starred in the films ''
Nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below) is a large-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. Typically, such storms originate as a low ...
'' (2012), '' Ned Rifle'' (2014), '' The Bloodhound'' (2020), and '' Bashira'' (2021).


Personal life

Aiken is the only child of Moya Aiken, an Irish-born artist; and Bill Aiken, an
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
producer, who is of Scots-Irish descent. Bill died of
esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...
in September 1992, at age 34, when Liam was two years old. Aiken grew up in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
and attended
Dwight-Englewood School The Dwight-Englewood School (D-E) is an independent coeducational college-preparatory day school, located in Englewood in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school teaches students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in ...
, graduating in 2008. He then went on to major in film at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
. , Aiken resides in Los Angeles.


Career

Aiken appeared in a segment on Night After Night with Allan Havey when he was an infant. He would make his professional acting debut in a
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
commercial by Ford Aerostar. He made his stage debut in the
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
play ''
A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish language, Danish and ; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act Play (theatre), play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 De ...
'' at the age of seven, 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! ''Good Boy!'' is a 2003 American science fiction comedy film directed by John Robert Hoffman, John Hoffman, based on the book ''Dogs from Outer Space'' by Zeke Richardson; Hoffman and Richardson collaborated on the screen story, while Hoffman w ...
'' (2003). He was considered to play Cole Sear in ''
The Sixth Sense ''The Sixth Sense'' is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient ( Haley Joel Osment) claims he can see and talk to the dead. Released ...
'' (1999), but the role went to
Haley Joel Osment Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, Osment's role in the comedy-drama film ''Forrest Gump'' (1994) won him a Young Artist Award. His breakthrough came with the psychological thr ...
. The following year, he was also considered for the role of
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
due to his Irish heritage and Scottish ancestry, as well as his previous work with director Chris Columbus on ''Stepmom'', but
Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. Radcliffe rose to fame at age twelve for portraying the title character in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He starred in all eight films in the series, from '' Harry Potter a ...
ultimately won the role, due to
J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...
's insistence that the part should go to a British actor. Aiken went on to play intelligent 12-year-old orphan Klaus Baudelaire in ''
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (also simply known as ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'') is a 2004 American black comedy adventure film directed by Brad Silberling from a screenplay by Robert Gordon, based on the first th ...
'' (2004). He also appeared in '' The Killer Inside Me'' (2010). In September 2011, he appeared in the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
series '' A Gifted Man''. From 2012 to 2015, he narrated the audiobook versions of '' All the Wrong Questions'', a prequel series to ''A Series of Unfortunate Events''. In 2012, he portrayed a boy who returns home after being missing for years in ''
Nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below) is a large-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. Typically, such storms originate as a low ...
'', directed by Andrew Brotzman. 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). In 2020, he co-starred '' The Bloodhound'', a mystery film inspired by the
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
short story "
The Fall of the House of Usher "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in ''Burton's Gentleman's Magazine'', then included in the collection ''Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque'' in 1840. The short stor ...
." In 2021, he portrayed an electronic musician who suffering a series of nightmares with bizarre and mysterious appearances in '' Bashira'', directed by Nickson Fong. He also played J.R. in ''Montauk'', directed by Sean Nalaboff.


Filmography


Film


Television


Stage


Video games


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aiken, Liam 1990 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American people of Irish descent American people of Scotch-Irish descent Audiobook narrators Dwight-Englewood School alumni Living people Tisch School of the Arts alumni