Liam Neeson turned down James Bond role after wife told him she wouldn’t marry him if he played 007

Liam Neeson recently revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone that at one point in his career he had the opportunity to play James Bond. This was shortly after she did Schindler’s List with Steven Spielberg, and though he was interested, he ultimately turned down the role due to an ultimatum his wife, Natasha Richardson, gave him. Neeson explained what that ultimatum was and why he relinquished the role:

“I know broccoli. They watched a bunch of actors, Schindler’s List was out and Barbara [Broccoli] he’d called me a couple of times to ask if I’d be interested, and I said, “Yes, I’d be interested.” And then my lovely wife [Natasha Richardson]God rest his soul, he said to me while we were shooting ‘Nell’ in Carolina, ‘Liam, I want to tell you something: if you play James Bond, we’re not getting married.’

“He gave me a James Bond ultimatum, and he meant it! Come on, there are all those beautiful girls in various countries who go to bed and get out of bed. I’m sure a lot of her decision making was based on that!

Ultimately, Neeson’s love for his wife outweighed his interest in playing James Bond, and he never had a serious match with Broccoli to play the role. If he had, though, I bet he would have been cast as Bond! He went on to say that he joked with Richardson by “going up behind him, making my fingers like I’m holding a gun, and [humming the James Bond theme]. I enjoyed doing that shit!

Not playing James Bond didn’t hurt Neeson’s career, after starring in the Taken franchise, he became a huge action star and now all he does is amazing action movies!