Though primarily a dramatic actor, Liam Neeson’s career took a turn in 1999 with “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” which led to him becoming the go to guy to play a mentor figure to a younger lead. Nearly a decade later, it changed again thanks to the success of 2008’s “Taken” which led to him becoming an action movie star – a genre he routinely pumps films out in to this day alongside a few dramas and comedies. Now though, at 72 years old, he’s looking ready to hang up his on screen need for revenge and tells he plans to move away from stunt-heavy leading roles in the next year or so.
Asked when he would exit the genre he says: “Maybe the end of next year. I think that’s it. I’m 72 – it has to stop at some stage.
You can’t fool audiences.” The intense stunt work required for his films is performed by his longtime collaborator Mark Vanselow, but Neeson still does his own fight scenes. He says when he no longer can do them convincingly, that’s when he’ll retire: “I don’t want Mark to be fighting my fight scenes for me.
” Neeson has no shortage of films on the way, the next being “The Naked Gun” reboot in which he plays the son of Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin character from the original iconic comedy. Neeson dubs the new one a “silly” movie and hopes the comedy lands: “Whether I can carry it or not, I honestly don’t know.”.