Los Angeles: Hollywood star Liam Neeson, who gained the action icon title with the blockbuster “Taken” franchise, has talked about his retirement from the genre by the end of next year.
After his action movie breakthrough in 2008 with “Taken”, Neeson went on to headline many movies in the nail-biting genre.
He was front and center for two “Taken” sequels and also fought like hell in action films such as “Unknown” (2011), “The Grey” (2012), “Non-Stop” (2014), “Run All Night” (2015), “The Commuter” (2018), “The Ice Road” (2021) and more, reports variety.com.
Neeson continues to perform his own fight scenes even in his 70s, with a little help from longtime stunt collaborator and friend Mark Vanselow.
“I’m 72 — it has to stop at some stage,” Neeson told people.com.
“You can’t fool audiences. I don’t want Mark to be fighting my fight scenes for me.”
Neeson has not yet set a specific date for his last action movie role, he did say that it will likely be in 2025, adding: “Maybe the end of next year. I think that’s it.”
Neeson’s latest action project, “Absolution,” arrives in November and reunites him with his “Cold Pursuit” director Hans Petter Moland.
“When he’s immersed in the character he is, you see the hurt, you see the pain,” Moland told People about what makes Neeson such an enduring action hero.
“He becomes that man.”
While Neeson is eyeing a retirement from action movies sometime in 2025, he’s continuing to film them for the time being. He was cast earlier this year opposite Zachary Levi in the “Hotel Tehran,” a new action-thriller from Guy Moshe.
Last month, Neeson reflected on his friendship with Ciaran Hinds and Colm Meaney
Talking about his relationship with his ‘Land of Saints and Sinners’ co-stars, Neeson had said, “Ciaran and I have been friends for over 50 years. Colm and I go back 40 years. It was a joy to be with them, to share the screen with them. And the new talent too, Kerry Condon and Jack Gleeson, they were all wonderful”.
–IANS