While he has perfectly proven his charms in other genres like 1993’s war-drama Schindler’s List, 1999’s family-sci-fi Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and 2003’s rom-com Love Actually as well, Liam Neeson’s performance in the action genre still dominates all. To say the least, action films are the one thing he is better known for than most.
Over the years, he has had, perhaps, more action dramas than all the other genre films combined in his resume. And yet, with each passing day, the 72-year-old actor isn’t getting any younger. Even Neeson isn’t denying that he’s tired and running out of gas. That said, the action legend didn’t hesitate to signal the end of an era while sharing his retirement plans from action pieces.
Liam Neeson Seems to be Eyeing His Retirement
Liam Neeson may have started his career back in the late 1970s, but the pieces that launched him to extraordinary heights of success along with his formerly acquired tremendous recognition and fame were his action pieces. But that genre seems to be the very one that might as well be bidding him farewell pretty soon, signaling the end of his era as an action legend.
In an exclusive interview with People, the Taken actor reflected on his career all the while coming to terms with the fact that he’s growing older with each passing day and would, one day, not be able to throw a punch as convincingly as before. Acknowledging his ever-increasing age, Neeson admitted, “I’m 72 — it has to stop at some stage.”
For the record, in his action pieces, the Schindler’s List star makes sure to perform his fight sequences by himself while letting the more intricate stunt work be handled by his longtime collaborator Mark Vanselow.
That said, Neeson also went on to say, “You can’t fool audiences. I don’t want Mark to be fighting my fight scenes for me.”
But does that mean the Retribution actor is already eyeing his retirement from the action genre? Well, unfortunately enough, it seems so. While he didn’t firmly commit to it, Neeson did give an exemplary window of just when this retirement might take place for him: Sometime in 2025. “Maybe the end of next year. I think that’s it,” he said.
If what he says is indeed true, Liam Neeson could be signaling the end of an era – one where he just never ceased to kick a**, taking a few punches while landing twice as much in return. With pieces like Taken (2008), In the Land of Saints and Sinners (2023), and The Grey (2011), he has made sure to leave an indelible mark on his audience’s hearts.
Perhaps, that’s the very reason why not only his fans but even the people he works with end up baffled by his performances. Take filmmaker Hans Petter Moland, for one, who can’t help but heap praise on Neeson for all the outstanding ways he channels the action heroes he plays.
Hans Petter Moland Feels Liam Neeson Brings Humanity to His Action Roles
Of course, the 72-year-old actor has played both good guy roles – like the devastated and revenge-stricken father who needs to rescue his kidnapped daughter in Taken; and the bad guy ones – like that of Ra’s al Ghul in The Dark Knight Trilogy. But for director Hans Petter Moland, who tamed his 2019 film Cold Pursuit, Neeson seems to bring humanity to his retaliation roles.
Talking to People about how he feels The Marksman actor faces no trouble while physically donning the personality of the character he is endowed with, Moland said about Neeson: “When he’s immersed in the character he is, you see the hurt, you see the pain. He becomes that man.” That, most certainly, couldn’t be truer for those who are no strangers to the actor’s works.
But, then again, as the late Liam Payne truthfully sang in Love You Goodbye, “It’s inevitable, everything that’s good comes to an end.” That said, it seems like Liam Neeson’s era as one of the best action heroes of all time will soon be coming to an end as well.
But even if it is, the actor seems to have given us enough masterpieces to reminisce for a lifetime, so even if the action genre loses him by next year, he will never truly be gone.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
