Liam Neeson’s resume includes starring roles in some of the biggest films of the last few decades: he was the hero of Steven Spielberg’s Best Picture-winning drama Schindler’s List (for which he received an Oscar nomination), a Jedi Master in the Star Wars franchise, and a charming widower in the perennial holiday favorite Love Actually.
But with Taken, a 2009 vengeance film about a former government agent who must rescue his kidnapped daughter, Neeson established a second act as an action hero, connecting with audiences like never before.
“It just seemed to have touched something in the psychic nerve of moviegoing audiences,” the father of two tells people in this week’s cover story.
Consider his recent journey to a New York court, when the Northern Ireland native, who holds dual US citizenship, appeared for jury service. Unselected for a trial, he read a Patricia Cornwell mystery on his Kindle while waiting for the clerk to release him.
“I’m uncertain about the number of individuals he’s contacting—perhaps 55 or 60.” He reaches out to me, but all I hear is, “I have a specific set of skills.” “Skills that would enable me…’ ” And I thought, ‘Oh, f— no,'” Neeson smiles as he recalls hearing the rendition of his Taken monologue.
“It was actually very sweet and flattering.” “People started applauding as I was leaving,” Neeson adds.
He has already released over a dozen films in this genre, his most recent being Absolution, which narrates the tale of a low-level criminal and boxer with CTE who, predictably, exacts retribution on some really nasty characters.
Director Hans Petter Moland, who previously helmed Neeson in 2019’s Cold Pursuit, believes the actor offers compassion to these sorts of characters. “When he immerses himself in his role, the agony and pain become palpable,” Moland clarifies. “He became that man.”
While Moland claims Neeson had no issue with the physicality of the part, the actor anticipates a day when he will be unable to throw a believable punch.
“I’m 72—it has to stop at some point,” says Neeson, who participates in his own combat sequences but delegated the more sophisticated stunt work to old partner Mark Vanselow. “You can’t mislead an audience. “I do not want Mark to fight my fight scenes for me.”
He intends to leave in 2025 but has not made a definite commitment. He is considering leaving by the end of next year.
Neeson has the potential to excel in a third role as a comedic star. He has completed filming a version of Leslie Nielsen’s police comedy The Naked Gun. In a new film, he stars as the bumbling officer Frank Drebin Jr., with Pamela Anderson playing a femme fatale alongside him.
“I am madly in love with her. I can’t praise her enough. “She is funny,” Neeson adds.
As the lead in the “Silly” film, he is unsure of his own comedic abilities. “Whether I can carry it or not, I honestly don’t know,” he tells me. Anderson disagrees. “He’s being humble,” she says. It was challenging to maintain composure during the scenes.