From Oscar nominee to action hero, Liam Neeson has always had a knack for picking the right roles. He chats fame, the ‘tea test’ and why he won’t be retiring any time soon
Think Speed — just on the school run, Retribution is the Ballymena man’s latest action outing. Having already battled baddies on a train in The Commuter, a plane in Non-Stop and even a snowplough in Cold Pursuit, a family wagon was only a matter of time, according to the star.
“I’ve done films on trains and aeroplanes before so I thought I should maybe do one in a car,” he laughs. “I loved the script and the fact we got to shoot in Berlin, a city I love. I was also fascinated with the idea of playing a character confined to his car for pretty much the duration of the film.
“The simple fact is that there is a bomb under his seat,” explains Liam, who plays workaholic banker Matt Turner in the high-octane flick, which is in cinemas and on Sky Cinema now.
“If he gets out of the car or even moves off his seat or his kids get up, the bomb goes off. So it’s me as this character with his two kids in the back seat trying to do whatever he can to survive and to save his children and himself.”
Liam Neeson as a dad under pressure in the explosive new Sky Original thriller Retribution
Obviously, it’s not the first time the Oscar nominee has played a dad who turns bad after getting mad, after 2008 revenge movie Taken sparked an unexpected career pivot in his 50s.
Two sequels and a slew of other ass-kicking lead roles in films including The Grey later, and the 71-year-old is today perhaps better known for his brawn than the brain of earlier roles in award-winning dramas like Schindler’s List or Michael Collins.
“I enjoy them,” Liam tells Magazine+ of the popular genre, which next sees him play a hitman suffering from brain disease in Thug: “I have already done another one actually. But this was very different. It is a thriller, of course, but it’s not me running around beating people up or anything like that. It’s me sitting down in the confines of a car and that brought about very different and interesting challenges.
“I feel very grateful,” he reflects on his five decades of success in Hollywood. “I became a professional actor in 1976 when I got my first paid job at a theatre in Belfast. All I thought about then was to hopefully keep working and maybe get a role with the National Theatre [in London].
“Then before I knew it, I was a knight in shining armour for the wonderful John Boorman in Excalibur and that was another life-changing experience.”
The Northern Irish actor, who incredibly has never won an Academy Award having been pipped to the post for Best Actor for his indelible turn as Oskar Schindler by Philadelphia star Tom Hanks in 1994, last year marked his 100th movie, Marlowe, which like Retribution is a Sky Original.
Despite a rapidly-changing movie landscape where the line between TV and cinema has become increasingly fuzzy, Liam insists his method of choosing roles is still the same after all these years.
“Really, the same as always,” he replies of what he looks for in a job. “A good director. I don’t like arguing so it’s important to find the right director. Good writing is very important.
“I have what I call my cup of tea test to determine what is a good script. Basically, if I get to page seven or eight and I’m thinking more about making a cup of tea than reading on, it’s not a good sign. Occasionally, I’ve read the whole script before making a cup of tea. That’s a very good sign.”
It seems the kettle will be boiling for a long time yet in the Neeson household, as the dad to fellow actor Micheál Richardson (28) and tequila brand founder Daniel Neeson (27) has no plans to retire.
“No, because I still enjoy what I do,” says Liam, who was married to Natasha Richardson for 15 years, until her tragic death in a 2009 ski accident. “I still get a kick out of it — especially that buzz that comes in that moment between when someone says ‘Action!’ and ‘Cut!’ I still love it.”
Being a global celebrity is another story. “I would say it’s actually become harder,” the American citizen adds of fame. “I’m glad I’m not Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt or any of those people who get mobbed. That doesn’t happen to me, thankfully, but I am finding it harder to keep a certain mystery to myself, especially in today’s world with social media and everyone telling everyone else what they had for breakfast.”
