Liam Neeson Shares His Surprise at Action Movie Offers: ‘Do the Producers Know My Age?’
Liam Neeson has been in some of the biggest movies of the last three decades. But after appearing in Taken, which grossed over $226 million worldwide, the actor established himself as a coveted action hero.
However, at the age of 70, Neeson is surprised that he still receives scripts and offers for lead roles in action flicks. And in a recent interview, he joked about movie producers forgetting how old he is when casting him in such action-packed roles.
Liam Neeson recreated a famous ‘Taken’ scene for a hockey game
Neeson has been in dozens of blockbuster films over his 47-year career, including Schindler’s List, Gangs of New York, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and Batman Begins. But most fans remember him from Taken, and its two sequels.
In March 2023, Neeson recreated the famous phone scene from the 2008 movie at a hockey game. In the scene, Neeson’s character receives a ransom call about his daughter’s abduction, and says the famous lines, “I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”
The clip was shown on the Jumbotron at a game between the New York Rangers and the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden. And as it continued, the camera cut to Neeson, who was sitting in the stands and recreating the scene with a stern look holding a phone to his ear.
Liam Neeson’s reaction to still receiving scripts for action movies
Despite his age, Neeson has no plans to retire from acting. But he is surprised by the number of scripts he still receives for action movies. The actor has become a household name for his roles in action films, including Taken, Non-Stop, and The Commuter.
In an interview with AARP, Neeson expressed his surprise at still receiving scripts for lead “hero” roles in action films. And he revealed that he makes sure producers know his age before accepting any action roles.
“If I’m sent an action script, I’ll say to my agent, ‘There’s seven fight scenes. I kill a bunch of guys that need to be killed. Do the producers know my age?'” Neeson shared.
The actor noted that while he doesn’t do his own stunts, he does all of his fight scenes for which he keeps himself “reasonably fit.” And he also revealed that he turned one movie down because he knew it would be physically challenging.
“They wanted me to do one with Jackie Chan, which when I read it, I thought, Well this would be tough for a 22-year-old to do, let alone a 69-year-old who’s going to be 70 this year,” Neeson recalled. “That’s the only one I turned down.”
Liam Neeson’s thoughts on the many people his character killed in ‘Taken’
In Taken, Neeson plays a retired CIA agent who travels to Europe to rescue his daughter from human traffickers. The movie was a commercial success and has become a cult classic.
However, the film also sparked a discussion about the number of people Neeson’s character killed. And in an interview with Screen Rant, Neeson recalled feeling slightly embarrassed about it.
“I had a driver when I was doing Taken, the first Taken movie 15 years ago,” Neeson detailed. “We were shooting in LA for the first week, and at the end of the first week, my driver, as he dropped me off at the hotel, he said, ‘Mr. Neeson, can I ask you a question?'”
“He says, ‘I’ve started to read the script of Taken, I’ve got to page 40,’ I think he said,” the actor continued with a laugh. “‘It says you’ve taken the lives of 26 people.’ I didn’t know how to answer that. I felt quite embarrassed. They said in such a way as if, ‘Are you sure you’ve read this script? Because you do nasty things to people.'”
