Natasha Richardson's Son Micheál on Reckoning With Her Accidental Death, Connecting to Her Through Her Films

Micheál Richardson is opening up about how he keeps his mom Natasha's memory alive.

In a new interview with UK's The Times, the 25-year-old actor, who is the son of Natasha and Liam Neeson, said he's "incredibly grateful" to have his late mother's films to remember her by. Natasha died at the age of 45 after she suffered a head injury in a ski accident in 2009.

"It was so sudden," Micheál said. "When it's unexpected and it's just a complete freak accident, it really sort of messes with your mind, whether you believe in fate or not."

"It can send you for a bit of a head spin," he continued, "and so you just latch on to the tiny little memories, whether it's her laugh or her energy in the room or her cooking. I do have her films to go back and watch her in, which I'm incredibly grateful for."

Micheál's previously revealed to People that his favorite film of Natasha's is "The Parent Trap," explaining that he "just see[s] her so much as that person."

"I'm so lucky too, because she's passed away, I can still watch her and see how she worked and also it's a great thing to have," he added. "And I do [watch her movies], but there's still a lot there I need to watch."

Meanwhile, during his interview with The Times, Micheál, who was only 13 when Natasha passed away, shared that he wishes that he was able to have "adult conversations" with his mom.

"I was a mama's boy growing up and she was really my best friend," he said. "I mean we were all a close family, but Danny [his younger brother] was my dad's boy and I was my mom's boy, for sure."

In 2018, Micheál changed his last name from Neeson to Richardson.

"It was mainly like a homage to my mother, a way to carry her with me," he told The Times. "Going into this industry, carrying her last name, it definitely inspires me and it is also comforting."

Micheál was promoting his new film, "Made In Italy," which he stars alongside his father, Liam. The 2020 comedy-drama centers on an artist who reunites with his estranged son in Tuscany to restore a villa belonging to his late wife.

While filming, Micheál said Natasha was on both of their minds.

"Sometimes it hurts and the pain is too much and your mind can go on autopilot and you push away because it hurts," he told Associated Press. "That's essentially what (my character) Jack did. He couldn’t remember a lot of things."

"The takeaway for me is nobody knows how to grieve but the best way to do it is by carrying your loved ones with you, not shutting them out," Micheál explained. "And honoring them and doing things in your life day to day that they would be proud for you to do."