Liam Neeson reveals late wife Natasha Richardson's brutal ultimatum over James Bond role

Liam Neeson has revealed that he was once in the running for the role of James Bond , which came into play after his performance in "Schindler's List."

Speaking on the Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend podcast that, Neeson said "they were interested in me after Schindler's List."

Explaining why he didn't take on the iconic character, Neeson said, "No I wasn't offered James Bond. I think I was on their radar for five minutes."

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The star of Taken confessed to Conan O'Brien that he would have considered the part had it been a firm offer : He said: "Yeah, when I first started getting a couple of calls about whether I'd be interested, I said 'yeah, I would be.'". However, his then-girlfriend and future wife Natasha Richardson had reservations about him taking the role, stating: "Natasha and I weren't married at the time, and she said 'If you are offered James Bond, we're not getting married.'"

Neeson humorously implied that Richardson may have been deterred by the thought of him working closely with "beautiful women".

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Liam met Natasha Richardson in 1993 while both were acting on Broadway , and they quickly fell in love, marrying the following year and later having two sons, Micheal and Daniel.

Sadly, Natasha met an untimely death at the tender age of 45 in a skiing accident in 2009.

The actor has enjoyed a successful career, featuring in many blockbuster films over the past several decades . One of his most memorable roles was in the action-thriller Taken, where he played a father frantically searching for his abducted daughter.

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However, his most acclaimed performance was arguably in the 1993 film, Schindler's List. His portrayal was so compelling that he received nominations for Best Actor at both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.

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