Decades ago in the 1990s, actor Liam Neeson was in the running to play James Bond. Neeson was interested at the time, but it ultimately didn’t go anywhere due to Neeson’s late wife, Natasha Richardson, telling Neeson she wouldn’t marry him if he took the role.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Neeson said he was approached by series producer Barbara Broccoli after he starred in 1993’s Schindler’s List and earned an Academy Award for his performance in it.
“Schindler’s List had come out and Barbara [Broccoli] had called me a couple of times to ask if I was interested, and I said, ‘Yes, I would be interested,'” Neeson recalled (via Variety). “And then my lovely wife [Natasha Richardson], God rest her soul, said to me while we were shooting Nell down in the Carolinas, ‘Liam, I want to tell you something: If you play James Bond, we’re not getting married.'”
Neeson added: “She gave me a James Bond ultimatum. And she meant it!” Neeson did get a laugh out of it all, saying he stood behind Richardson’s back, positioned his fingers like a gun, and hummed the James Bond theme music. “I loved doing that sh**,” he said.
Richardson died in 2009 after a skiing accident.
Neeson didn’t play the iconic British super-spy, but he did take on an action-heavy role in the movie Taken, which became a franchise. He also starred in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace as Qui-Gon Jinn.
As for the James Bond film series, the producers are taking their time to find the next British man to play the character. Idris Elba, a fan-favorite, recently took himself out of the running.
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