Liam Neeson Has One Condition For Starring In Movies Now

Liam Neeson has appeared in over 100 feature films since making his big-screen debut 47 years ago in an adaptation of John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress.” He spent the 1980s making his bones via supporting performances in high-profile movies like “Excalibur,” “The Bounty,” “The Dead Pool,” but it was his lively portrayal of a hell-raising hill person in the Patrick Swayze revenge vehicle “Next of Kin” that made Hollywood perk up and take notice. The following year, Sam Raimi cast Neeson as Peyton Westlake aka Darkmanbut it wasn’t until Steven Spielberg entrusted the Irish actor with the title role in “Schindler’s List” that he was off and running as a movie star.

When Neeson surprised moviegoers in 2008 by thriving as an action star in “Taken,” he leaned heavily into the bit. Two sequels followed, as did “The A-Team,” “Unknown,” “Non-Stop,” and “Run All Night.” For more serious-minded fans of Neeson’s work, there was something oddly unsavory about this; combine this with his appearance in Seth MacFarlane’s irredeemably silly “A Million Ways to Die in the West,” and these killjoys held that he was somehow cheapening himself for big paydays. Was there anything Neeson wouldn’t do?

There was, actually, and it’s something that he’s determined to never do again. No, it’s not “make a ‘Krull’ sequel.”

In a 2018 interview with Men’s JournalNeeson revealed that there is one element guaranteed to elicit a hard “No” from him. “I’ve read a couple of scripts where the character’s on a motorbike,” he said, “And I’m like, ‘Is this important to the script?’ ‘Yeah, it is.’ ‘OK, I’m not in.'”

What’s his issue with motorcycles? In 2000, Neeson was riding one near his home in Lithgow, New York when a deer jumped onto the road in front of him. Neeson, who was wearing a helmet, struck the deer (which died from its injuries) and was thrown into an earth embankment. Had he remained on the vehicle, he would’ve collided with a tree, which would’ve likely killed him. He was fortunate to survive the accident with a broken pelvis and other, less serious injuries, and this was enough for Neeson to swear off motorcycling for the rest of his life.

The Men’s Journal writer who interviewed him told the star he not only still biked, but recently had an accident himself. According to the journalist, Neeson turned “serious,” and told him, “You have to watch yourself. Get it out of your system. Make a pact with your wife. And don’t cheat on it.”

So there you have it: if you want Liam Neeson to be in your movie, keep his character off a crotch rocket! And maybe don’t try to cast him as a thief (because he’s not a fan of his work in Steve McQueen’s “Widows”).