Zack Sharf Liam Neeson revealed in a recent interview with Rolling Stone that James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli contacted him several time in the 1990s to ask if he was interested in taking on the role of 007.
The actor was fresh off an Oscar nomination for best actor at the time thanks to “Schindler’s List.” Why turn down one of the most iconic action roles in film history?
It all came down to Neeson’s wife, Natasha Richardson. “I know the Broccolis. They looked at a bunch of actors,” Neeson said. “‘Schindler’s List’ had come out and Barbara [Broccoli] had called me a couple of times to ask if I was interested, and I said, ‘Yes, I would be interested.’ And then my lovely wife [Natasha Richardson], god rest her soul, said to me while we were shooting ‘Nell’ down in the Carolinas, ‘Liam, I want to tell you something: If you play James Bond, we’re not getting married.'” Neeson’s love for Richardson outmatched his interest in playing James Bond, so he never took a serious meeting with Broccoli.
What Neeson did do was tease Richardson by “going behind her back, making my fingers as though I’m holding a gun, and [humming the James Bond theme],” he said. “I loved doing that shit!” “She gave me a James Bond ultimatum,” Neeson added. “And she meant it!
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