Movies
Liam Neeson could have been James Bond, but chose to get married instead
Liam Neeson revealed that the producers of the James Bond franchise asked him to become the MI6 agent, but that it didn’t pan out for a very strong reason.
Daniel Craig's era as James Bond is over. The producers are actively looking for his succesor, although they are taking it easy. To this day there is still no definite news, but actor Liam Neeson has confessed to Variety he was considered for the role in the past. However, he abandoned that idea when his wife gave him an ultimatum: either James Bond or marriage. He chose the latter.
“I know the Broccolis. They looked at a bunch of actors. ‘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.’ However, those plans changed when his wife, then still a girlfriend, gave him an ultimatum. “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.'”
It was an ultimatum that worked out, and Neeson ruled out becoming an MI6 secret agent.
Liam Neeson refuses to return to Star Wars
Nor does it seem that the actor is too interested in reprising his role as Qui-Gon Jinn, In recent statements during the Watch What Happens Live show, Neeson complained that so many productions are killing the magic:
"No, I'm not [coming back]. There’s so many spinoffs of ‘Star Wars.’ It’s diluting it to me, and it’s taken away the mystery and the magic in a weird way”. Despite the fact that Liam Neeson has always refused to return (he also said that he would only consider it if it were made for the cinema), the actor returned to play the character in the animated series The Clone Wars. And not only that: he made a cameo in Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi and also in the Tales of the Jedi animated short film series, where his son played the younger version of the character.
Idris Elba has been one of the most rumored actors to be James Bond, but he’s already dropped out of the race. Hugh Jackman didn’t accept either.
Source | Variety