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! (2003), and played Klaus Baudelaire in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), based on the series of books. He also starred in the films Nor’easter (2012), Ned Rifle (2014) and The Bloodhound (2020).
Personal life
Aiken was born in New York City, the only child of Moya Aiken, an Irish-born artist; and Bill Aiken, an MTV producer. Bill died of esophageal cancer in September 1992, at age 34, when Liam was two years old. Aiken grew up in New Jersey and attended Dwight-Englewood School, graduating in 2008. He then went on to major in film at New York University. As of 2017[update], Aiken resides in Los Angeles.
Career
Aiken made his professional acting debut in a Ford Motor Company commercial by Ford Aerostar. He made his stage debut in the Broadway play A Doll’s House 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! (2003). He was considered to play Cole Sear in The Sixth Sense (1999), but the character went for Haley Joel Osment. He was also considered for the role of Harry Potter due to his Irish ancestry and his previous work with director Chris Columbus on Stepmom. However, Daniel Radcliffe took the part.
Aiken went on to play intelligent 12-year-old orphan Klaus Baudelaire in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004). He also appeared in The Killer Inside Me (2010). In September 2011, he appeared in the CBS 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, 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 short story “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Henry Fool | Ned | |
| 1998 | Montana | Kid | |
| The Object of My Affection | Nathan | ||
| Stepmom | Ben Harrison | ||
| 2000 | I Dreamed of Africa | Emanuele Gallmann (age 7) | |
| 2001 | Sweet November | Abner | |
| The Rising Place | Emmett Wilder | ||
| 2002 | Road to Perdition | Peter Sullivan | |
| 2003 | Good Boy! | Owen Baker | |
| 2004 | Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events | Klaus Baudelaire | |
| 2006 | Fay Grim | Ned Grim | |
| 2010 | The Killer Inside Me | Johnnie Pappas | |
| 2012 | Electrick Children | Mr. Will | |
| Girls Against Boys | Tyler | ||
| Nor’easter | Boy/Josh Green | ||
| 2013 | Munchausen | Son | Short film |
| How to Be a Man | Bryan | ||
| 2014 | Ned Rifle | Ned | |
| 2015 | The Frontier | Eddie | |
| Weepah Way for Now | Reed | ||
| Let Me Down Easy | Hezekiah | Short film | |
| 2016 | Like Lambs | Charlie Masters | |
| 2017 | The Emoji Movie | Ronnie Ram Tech | |
| 2017 | The Honor Farm | Sinclair | |
| 2020 | The Bloodhound | Francis | |
| 2021 | Montauk | J.R. | previously called Kingfish |
| TBA | Bashira | Andy | |
| TBA | Cleveland | Ethan |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998, 2007 | Law & Order | Jack Ericson/Tory Quinlann | 2 episodes |
| 2002, 2009 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Robbie Bishop/Jason | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | A Gifted Man | Milo | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Mad Men | Rolo | Episode: “The Quality of Mercy” |
| 2018 | I’m Dying Up Here | Howard | Episode: “Plus One” |
Stage
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | A Doll’s House | Bobby Helmer | Belasco Theatre |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events | Klaus Baudelaire | Voice |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Work | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actor Age Ten or Younger | Won | Stepmom | |
| 2003 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor | Nominated | Road to Perdition | |
| 2004 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor | Nominated | Good Boy! | |
| 2005 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor | Nominated | Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events | |
| Critics Choice Award | Best Young Actor | Nominated |
