Liam Neeson.Photo: Nicholas Hunt/Getty
Liam Neesonlikely will never portray James Bond on the big screen, and for good reason.
Ultimately, Neeson was not offered the part, but he likely would not have taken the offer regardless. That’s because he said late wife Natasha Richardson was not keen on the idea.
“I know they were looking at various actors and I apparently was among them. However, my dear, departed wife did say to me … ‘Darling, if you’re offered James Bond and you’re going to play it, you’re not going to marry me,'“Neeson toldCordon.
In 2009,Richardson diedat age 45 from a head injury sustained while skiing at Quebec’s Mont Tremblant. The actress suffered blunt force trauma after falling on a beginner’s slope while out with an instructor and refusing initial medical treatment after the accident.
The love Neeson and Richardson shared still remains evident 12 years after the fatal incident. He and his eldest son, Micheál,found solacein developing their 2020 filmMade in Italyabout a father and son coping with the death of the family matriarch.
Micheál, whochanged his last namein 2018 to honor his mother, said he “felt"Richardson’s presencewhile filming.
“When you lose somebody so close to you, sometimes you just push it away and out of your head because the thought of them hurts,” Micheáltold PEOPLEin August 2020.“But I found that’s an unhealthy thing to do. You have to remember them.”
Now, Neeson’s window to step in as Bond is quickly closing, should he even be interested. Earlier this year, the actor toldEntertainment Tonightheintends to retirefrom action movies in the near future, noting he had “a couple in the pipeline” before he is prepared to take on other roles.
No Time to Diewill beDaniel Craig’s final turn as 007, leaving the franchise to seek out its next star. The film is scheduled to hit theaters in October.
source: people.com
