Natasha Richardson’s son hasn’t ‘fully comprehended’ his mother’s death

Natasha Richardson’s eldest son Micheál Richardson still hasn’t fully processed her death 11 years later. “I think the pain was a little too overwhelming,” Micheál, 25, told Vanity Fair. “I think the mind is very powerful, and subconsciously, or unconsciously, it can protect you. That’s what it did when she passed. I just pushed it …

Natasha Richardson’s eldest son Micheál Richardson still hasn’t fully processed her death 11 years later.

“I think the pain was a little too overwhelming,” Micheál, 25, told Vanity Fair. “I think the mind is very powerful, and subconsciously, or unconsciously, it can protect you. That’s what it did when she passed. I just pushed it aside and didn’t want to deal with it.”

Natasha was 45 when she tragically died in March 2009 from an epidural hematoma after accidentally hitting her head while skiing. Micheál was only 13 and his younger brother, Daniel, 12.

“I don’t, even still, think that I’ve fully comprehended it, and that seems to be a similar journey to a lot of people I’ve spoken to,” Micheál continued. “Fifty-year-olds who lost their parents when they were 12, 13 … One day they’re out gardening, and something comes over them and they just break down.”

Micheál, who changed his last name two years ago to honor his late mother, is currently starring opposite his father, Liam Neeson, in “Made in Italy,” a film that eerily mirrors their experience.

The movie centers on a father and son struggling with grief after the death of the family matriarch and their attempt to sell off the family’s holiday home in Italy.

“The parallels were so apparent, that it felt like my mom, in a spiritual sense, had a hand in it,” Micheál acknowledged, adding that he felt his mother’s presence during filming, like when a butterfly flittered between him and his father while they were shooting a pivotal scene.

Micheál also said that his favorite movie of his mother’s is the Disney classic, “The Parent Trap.”

“That’s more or less what she was like,” he explained. “She was this sweet, amazing mother figure—my best friend. She had these amazing, big welcomes when we’d come home or she would come home. I’m so lucky because I have her captured on film.”