Liam Neeson has made a startling number of action flicks over the past decade or so. Taken's of course the big standout that kicked off the trend for the actor, who works nearly continuously, but as the veteran actor has aged, it has made us wonder how long he may continue doing such action-heavy projects. The answer? Probably not much longer. Speaking at the Toronto International Film Festival, Liam Neeson revealed he wants to do more serious projects... ones that won't take quite the same toll on his body. The actor noted:
They're still throwing serious money at me to do that stuff. I'm like, 'Guys I'm sixty-fucking-five.' Audiences are eventually going to go, 'Come on.'
We suppose this comment isn't wildly unexpected, as about two years ago, Neeson was saying he thought he had two more years of action in him. Still, so far, the "come on" part of that quote hasn't happened. One of Neeson's newest movies, Hard Powder, is expected to come out in theaters in 2018 and will follow a snowplow driver who will be trying to get revenge on some drug dealers because he thinks they killed his son. Nothing like some intense bad guys to get Liam Neeson running around and kicking ass once again.
Of course, Liam Neeson is a capable actor. We've seen him take roles that are not like the ones seen in Taken, Run All Night, The Grey, or Non-Stop. Roles like the lead in Kinsey come to mind, but Neeson's done a lot of other interesting stuff more recently, including voicing the Monster in 2016's A Monster Calls. He'll also be playing Philip Marlowe in the upcoming movie Marlowe, taking on an iconic Humphrey Bogart character.
Speaking at TIFF (via Sky.com) the actor said that the fact he is an action icon at all is a matter of pure coincidence, noting that it "was all a pure accident." If Taken had not been such the monster--and surprise--hit that it was, it would be unlikely that Neeson would have been seen as such a prime candidate for an older action star, and we may never have gotten the Taken sequels, much less the other action films that Neeson has attached himself to over the past 10 years or so.
Of course, it ain't over until the fat lady sings. Although 65 is getting up there in years and Liam Neeson is clearly expressing a desire to take on some different types of roles, we would like to point out that he doesn't exactly hold a candle to Harrison Ford, who in his mid-seventies completed work on Star Wars: The Force Awakens and could still play a key role in Indiana Jones 5 when that movie gets made. Let's give Liam Neeson a few more serious roles in the coming years, I'm all for that. But if Taken 4 ever beckons, I want him to at least be willing to consider jumping back in. Honestly, if he's still worried about those "come on" comments at that point, I can promise he'll hear nary a peep from me. Plus, you have to know that if he hears them from anyone else, he will find you. And he will kill you.
