Liam Neeson fears his days of rough-and-tumble roles are coming to an end. Photo / Getty Images
Liam Neeson is to retire from making action movies in 2025.
The 72-year-old actor has become known for his tough guy roles over the years since starring in 2008 thriller Taken but Neeson fears his days of rough-and-tumble roles are coming to an end and he wants to bow out before he’s unable to convincingly throw a punch.
He told People: “I’m 72 - it has to stop at some stage. You can’t fool audiences. I don’t want [longtime stunt collaborator Mark Vanselow] to be fighting my fight scenes for me.”
Neeson went on to set out a timetable for his action movie retirement, adding: “Maybe the end of next year. I think that’s it.”
The actor is set to show off his comedy chops in his next movie - a reboot of Leslie Nielsen’s police comedy The Naked Gun - but Neeson isn’t sure whether he will be able to swap action for funny roles going forward.
He said: “Whether I can carry it or not, I honestly don’t know.”
In the interview, Neeson also revealed how his part in the Taken franchise has infiltrated every part of his life - confessing a clerk at a New York court started reciting his speech from the first film when releasing him from jury duty.
He said: “[The clerk is] calling, I don’t know, 55, 60 of us. He gets to me, but all I’m hearing is, ‘I have a particular set of skills. Skills that would make me ...’
“And I thought, ‘Oh f*** no’ ... It was actually really sweet and flattering. As I was leaving, people started to applaud.”
Neeson previously revealed he felt nervous about taking on the role of Frank Drebin jr – the son of Nielsen’s protagonist Detective Frank Drebin from the original Naked Gun films – and is wary of the expectation that comes with reviving the spoof comedy franchise.
Neeson told MovieWeb.com: “I’ve done a couple of, like, TV skits with Stephen Colbert and Ricky Gervais, but those were two minutes, three minutes tops.
“But I’m a bit nervous about Naked Gun, because it’s a feature film ... There’s lots of funny gags, lots of funny visual gags happening at the same time while ‘serious things’ are being discussed, you know? ...
“It’s not a remake. It’s a reboot. It’s a totally different thing ... I’ll do my own thing. I remember Leslie very well. I love those films. Especially that first, Airplane! You know, ‘Don’t call me Shirley’. Just that line alone, I think, changed Leslie’s career up until he passed away.”