Liam Neeson was once 'ruthlessly' shut down by fellow actor Clint Eastwood

Liam Neeson once sought professional advice from Clint Eastwood only to be ruthlessly shut down.

When younger actors work with their older, more experienced peers it isn't unusual for them to seek advice on their work and the industry from them and Liam - who recently revealed how he was issued an ultimatum over his potential James Bond role - is no exception to the rule.

However, when Liam approached Clint for a bit of friendly input when they worked on the fifth and final Dirty Harry movie together in 1988 the iconic star was less than impressed by fresh-faced Liam.

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The Dead Pool saw Clint working with an unusual cast that included the likes of Liam who played music video director Peter Swan, alongside Jim Carrey in the first dramatic performance of his career as rock singer Johnny Squares, Charles Martinet – who voiced Super Mario – as a news reporter, and Guns N' Roses star Slash is seen firing a harpoon through a window.

While Liam was 35 and had starred in a dozen features before joining the cast, he was somewhat misguided in his belief this meant he could head to the leading man’s trailer to attempt to refine their scenes together.

Liam explained when he collected a ‘Outstanding Contribution to Cinema’ award from the Irish Film & Television Academy: “I had two or three scenes with Mr Eastwood, and being very eager and keen before the first scene, I thought I’d go to his trailer and talk about my character and a couple of little changes I had and dialogue.

“I sat down with him, and he listened to my eager, earnest spiel about changing these lines. So I finished, and he looked at me and said, ‘Interesting’, and kept me waiting. Then he said, ‘Well, the way I see it, Liam, you hit a few marks and say a few lines. What’s the problem?'”

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Unfortunately for Liam while he had hoped his trip to Clint's trailer would result in a brainstorming session between the pair where he would successfully have an authentic professional exchange with him it just wasn't on the cards.

Clint seemingly just wanted him to do and say what was already there in black and white in the script and had no time for his apparently needless intrusion into his time taking a break from filming on the set.