LIAM NEESON - PAISLEY'S WIFE DEFENDS NEESON CASTING

LIAM NEESON's politically sensitive casting as DR IAN PAISLEY in a biopic of the Northern Irish statesman's life has been defended - by Paisley's wife. The Irish-born actor was picked to play his countryman despite a Roman Catholic upbringing and once playing Irish Republican Army icon Michael Collins on screen. But Eileen Paisley insists it doesn't matter that these are the antitheses of her husband's political values, because they still have a few things in common. She says, "I don't think Ian would be that bothered. "Liam is an actor, after all, and not only is he the right height, he is from Ballymena like Ian and should be able to get the accent right."