Liam Neeson has made a name for himself kick ass and taking names, but he didn't need to be 007 to do it. In a new interview, the Non-Stop star says he turned down the iconic role almost twenty years ago to marry his late wife Natasha Richardson.
“I was heavily courted, let’s put it that way, and I’m sure some other actors were too,” he said. “It was about 18 or 19 years ago and my wife-to-be said, 'If you play James Bond we’re not getting married'. And I had to take that on board because I did want to marry her.”
It must have been pre-Pierce Brosnan, who came on in 1995 because let's be real, Timothy Dalton was the worst. It's hard to imagine Neeson as the most dangerous weapon in her majesty's secret service, though. Then again, we were skeptical of Daniel Craig before Casino Royale came out, so maybe he would've been great.
Richardson died in 2009 in a skiing accident at age 45; she and Neeson were married for 15 years before her death.
