Not so long ago, Liam Neeson said in an interview rolling stone that the film producer James BondBarbara Broccoli contacted him several times in the 1990s to see if Leeson would be interested in taking on the role. Agent 007.

We fast forward to the period when Neeson was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor after his role in “Schindler’s list” Steven Spielberg. So how, at what seemed to be the peak of his career, did he refuse to play one of the most iconic characters in the history of world cinema?

Apparently, the answer lies with Neeson’s then-wife, Natasha Richardson.

The actor did acknowledge the shock of playing Bond and even expressed interest: “While my beloved wife – God rest her soul – said to me during the filming: “Liam, I want to tell you something, if you play James Bond, we will not get married.” the actor says.

Neeson’s love clearly outstripped any ambition to don the 007 costume, which is why he didn’t take his dates with the producers seriously. But what he did – to tease his wife – was to touch her with his hands, pretending to hold a gun, and humming James Boyd’s famous theme song.

“He gave me an ultimatumNeeson saysand he meant it“. According to him, one of the main reasons why his wife gave him this “ultimatum” was due to … the “polygamous” nature of the role of James Bond.

Be that as it may, Neeson’s “no” did not stop him from having a significant career, especially in the action genre. Let’s not forget the huge success”Taken“but also his participation in the episodes of the second – chronologically – the trilogy of the legendary”star Wars“. However, he recently stated that he has no interest in returning to the Star Wars “universe”, explaining that “so many spin-offs have taken away magic and mystery.”

The most recent film he starred in is Marlow, where he plays the lead role of the legendary detective.

According to Variety