Liam Neeson Says He’s Retiring From Action Movies Soon

Sorry, all you bros out there who love seeing 68-year-old Liam Neeson kick some sex-trafficker ass and act all gruff and manly, your fun time is coming to a close.  Liam has a couple more action movies in the work, but after that, he says he’s hanging up his brass knuckles. But one door closes and another opens! It may be time to say “Hello!” to all you people out there who love seeing Liam play a widower helping his adopted son win over the middle-school love of his life!

Liam has an extensive career playing variations of the same anti-hero in every movie badasses. He’s been an estranged father killing people to save his kidnapped daughter (Taken). He’s been an alcoholic kicking ass on a plane he’s been framed to hijack (Non-Stop). He’s been a suicidal divorcé whose lone mission is to kill the cartel who murdered his son via overdose (Cold Pursuit). And in his latest movie, The Marksman, he’s a broke, southern ex-military type who runs from law enforcement and ne’er-do-wells to protect a young Mexican boy from the drug cartels after they murder his mother. THE RANGE! And if you’re thinking, “Didn’t he also play a man who wanted to murder a random Black person to avenge his friend’s sexual assault?” No, that’s something he actually said in real-life.

Entertainment Tonight‘s Lauren Zima spoke to Liam and he basically said he’s too old for this shit:

“Oh, yeah. I think so. I’m 68 and a half. 69 this year. There’s a couple more I’m going to do this year–hopefully, Covid allowing us–there’s a couple in the pipeline and, then I think that will probably be it. Well, unless I’m on a Zimmer frame or something.”

It’s not like Liam doesn’t enjoy the whole gag of playing an action star, but a fight he did on another upcoming movie, Blacklight, made him face reality:

“I love doing ’em. I love beating up guys half my age,” he says, though he admits he had something of a revelation while filming his next flick, Blacklight.

“I’ve just finished one in Australia and I had a fight scene with a kid–lovely, sweet actor called Taylor–and halfway through the fight I looked up, I was breathless and it didn’t cost him a cent, and I said, “Taylor, what age are you?” He said, “25.” I said, “That’s the age of my eldest son!””

But Liam may have room for one more action film, as he told ET previously that he would consider reprising his role of Zeus from the Clash of the Titans franchise in the next Wonder Woman. Fans have apparently been campaigning for him to do it, but how do they even know he’s in it? These hos are getting private plot notes from Patty Jenkins?

“I guess so, sure. I mean, I’m very flattered!” he says, before disclaiming, “I wasn’t aware that the ancient Greek gods appeared in Wonder Woman. I have to say, much to my chagrin, I haven’t seen kind of the Wonder Woman movies.” When informed that, indeed, they do and Zeus is father to Gal Gadot‘s Wonder Woman, he grinned, “I’ll call my agent!”

Maybe Liam’s post-action career involves a resurrection of his rom-com one. Let’s see Love, Actually turn into a Taken-esque franchise. Love, Ac2ally. Love, Actuali3r. Come on, let’s get ’em cranking!

Here’s the trailer for one of Liam’s maybe-last action movies, The Marksman.

Pic: TSG Entertainment