Liam Neeson made a name for himself as an action star quite late in his career, and it seems that he is almost ready to close the book on that part of his life in the near future. Having delivered audience-pleasing performances in movies such as Taken, The Ice Road, and Cold Pursuit, fans should make the most of his latest movie, Absolution, as it could be one of his last action roles.
While Neeson spent many years dabbling in dramas and rom-coms, 2009 revenge thriller Taken changed all that forever, turning the Irish actor into a surprising action star overnight. In a new interview with People, he first recalled how something about that movie just registered with audiences. Neeson explained:
It just seemed to have touched something in the psychic nerve of moviegoing audiences.
Although his new movie sees him once again getting physical with bad guys, he has now started to think about winding down to his retirement from the genre. He said:
“I’m 72 — it has to stop at some stage. You can’t fool audiences. I don’t want [stunt collaborator] Mark [Vanselow] to be fighting my fight scenes for me. Maybe the end of next year. I think that’s it.”
Liam Neeson Will Star in The Naked Gun in 2025
Although Neeson is planning on winding down his action roles, that doesn’t mean he is about to retire from the industry completely. He will be seen making a return to comedy next year, in the reboot of The Naked Gun. While the actor has dabbled in comedic roles before, from the gentle and sentimental humor of Love, Actually to the more obvious laughs – or possibly lack of them – that were found in Seth MacFarlane’s A Million Ways to Die in the West, The Naked Gun is a completely different type of comedy to contend with.
The franchise was a huge hit in the 1980s/1990s thanks to the deadpan delivery of Leslie Nielsen, and living up to that comedic legacy is something that does give Neeson some doubts. While he confessed, “Whether I can carry it or not, I honestly don’t know,” costar Pamela Anderson called him out for just “being humble.” She said of Neeson’s performance:
It was hard to keep a straight face in scenes together.
Related
The Hit Movie That Changed Liam Neeson’s Entire Career is Finally Streaming
Liam Neeson has a certain set of skills, but they all began with this action blockbuster.
Whether this could be yet another permanent career change for Neeson is something we can only wait to find out, but as one of the most popular actors working in the industry, he has a dedicated fan base that will be willing to follow wherever he leads. In the near future, his slate includes several more action outings before he potentially stops beating up people and getting into gun fights. Neeson currently has four movies yet to receive release dates: Thug, Cold Storage, The Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky, and Hotel Tehran. Only time will tell how many more he will be adding to that list.