- Liam Neeson, 72, has said he is retiring from making action movies
- The Irish actor has become famous for starring in a range of action movies over the years
- He is quitting for a particular set of reasons
Liam Neeson has announced that he is to retire from making action movies as age is finally catching up with him.
Speaking to People, Neeson said: “I’m 72 – it has to stop at some stage.”
Neeson still performs his own fight scenes, although the more demanding stunts in films have recently been completed by Mark Vanselow. “You can’t fool audiences,” the actor added.
But Neeson isn’t giving up the action just yet – he thinks it will be the end of next year when he finally quits those roles.
In honour of his long action career, here are five highlights:
Taken
The Taken trilogy (2008-2014) are some of Neeson’s best known action roles, where he plays Brian Mills, a retired CIA operative. In the first and best-known film, he must rescue his daughter and his friend who have been kidnapped by sex traffickers. It is well known for his speech to the traffickers containing the line ‘what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.’
The Commuter
This 2018 movie starred Neeson as Michael, a former NYPD officer turned insurance agent. He takes the same train commute every day, but on the day he loses his job, a mysterious woman draws him into a murder conspiracy. It leads him on a frantic search for a particular passenger – with the threat that his family will be killed. Can he save the commuters and his family?
Non-Stop
In this movie, Neeson again plays a former NYPD officer. But this time he is now a Federal Air Marshal (and alcoholic) who must find a killer on a flight from New York to London after receiving a message saying a passenger will be killed every 20 minutes unless financial demands are met.
The A-Team
In this big screen remake of the hugely popular TV series from the 1980s, Neeson took on the role of John ‘Hannibal’ Smith, the leader of the team. It told the story of a crack team of commandos, framed for a crime the didn’t commit, going on the run to clear their names.
The Marksman
This time, Neeson plays a rancher and, for a change, a former Marine. He lives in an Arizona border town and decides to help a young boy to escape the clutches of a Mexican drug cartel. The film had mixed reviews but Neeson’s performance was praised.
