Liam Neeson admits then-girlfriend was enraged after James Bond role interest

Liam Neeson
-Credit: (Image: (Image: Getty))


Liam Neeson has claimed that the producers of James Bond once displayed "interest" in him playing the famous spy, but his girlfriend at the time wasn't too pleased with the possibility.

Appearing on the Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend podcast, he explained how the opportunity to play the coveted role nearly came about, saying: "They were interested in me after Schindler's List."

Going into more detail about the situation, he said that when asked by a journalist why he didn't take up the chance, he replied: "No I wasn't offered James Bond.' I think I was on their radar for five minutes."

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As the Ballymena native continued his conversation with Conan, the presenter asked him whether the role would have been something he'd have considered if the offer became more concrete: "Yeah, when I first started getting a couple of calls about whether I'd be interested, I said 'yeah, I would be'."

However, there was a stumbling block as his then-girlfriend Natasha Richardson (who later became his wife) was not keen on him pursuing the idea any further: "Natasha and I weren't married at the time, and she said 'If you are offered James Bond, we're not getting married'."

Liam joked with Ronan that his future wife would have been angered by the idea of him spending so much time filming with 'beautiful women' for the role.

Liam first met Natasha in 1993 when the pair were performing on Broadway together. After tying the knot just a year later, the couple later had two children together, Micheal and Daniel, before Natasha died aged just 45 in a tragic skiing accident in 2009.

The actor has enjoyed a hugely successful career, appearing in several blockbuster films in recent decades. One of his most acclaimed roles came in the action-thriller Taken, where he played a father as he tried to track down his kidnapped daughter.

But, arguably his most accomplished performance came in the 1993 film, Schindler's List. Such was his success in the portrayal, he was nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.

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