With his rugged looks and 6ft 4in stature Liam Neeson doesn't often come across as a softie on the big screen, but there was no doubting the depth of his compassion as he cuddled Aids-stricken children in Mozambique recently.
The Schindler's List actor was in the Sub-Saharan African country in his role as an ambassador for Unicef Ireland.
Visiting a project aimed at preventing mother to child transmission of the disease he spent time with some of its tiny victims, cradling a newborn in his arms and scooping up one round-eyed toddler for a gentle bear hug.
"I have seen images of hungry and sick children before but nothing prepares you for the reality," he said."
During the trip the 53-year-old Irish star also met up with 14-year-old rape victim, Gabriella, a mother of one who also cares for her three sisters and a brother.
"I have never seen anything so desperate as the look of total hopelessness and futility in Gabriella's eyes. All hope has been extinguished in her," says Ballymena-born Liam. But the actor made it clear that he at least would not be forgetting Gabriella's plight. "She is no longer a statistic, but flesh and blood to me," he added.
