The Irish actor’s wife said they wouldn’t get married if he took on the spy rol

Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson pictured in 2008

Irish actor Liam Neeson has told how his late wife Natasha Richardson once gave him a “James Bond ultimatum”.

The Taken star, whose new film Marlowe was released this month in US theaters, said he had been asked by a director if he’d be interested in the role.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, he said: “I was not offered James Bond. I know the Broccolis. They looked at a bunch of actors. Schindler’s List had come out and Barbara had called me a couple of times to ask if I was interested, and I said, ‘Yes, I would be interested’.

Liam then added how his actress wife Natasha, who passed away in 2009 after a tragic skiing accident, had said if he played the role, they wouldn’t get married.

Neeson explained: “And then my lovely wife, God rest her soul, said to me while we were shooting Nell down in the Carolinas, ‘Liam, I want to tell you something: If you play James Bond, we’re not getting married’.

“So I would tease her by going behind her back, making my fingers as though I’m holding a gun, and then [hums the James Bond theme]. I loved doing that s***!

“She gave me a James Bond ultimatum. And she meant it!

“Come on, there’s all those gorgeous girls in various countries getting into bed and getting out of bed.

“I’m sure a lot of her decision-making was based on that!” Liam laughed.

Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson at the American Ireland Fund’s 33rd Annual New York Gala Fundraiser at Lincoln Center in 2008 (Image: Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic via Getty Images)
The Northern Ireland man also was also asked by the magazine how he managed to pick up the pieces after Natasha’s untimely death.

Liam told Rolling Stone: “It was such a freak accident. I was shooting a film with Julianne Moore at the time up in Toronto, and… I don’t know how to answer that…

“Life goes on. Natasha’s mother Vanessa and her sister kind of moved in and I had a wonderful assistant, Joanna…

“People just came to help, you know? In a big way. And I’ll never, ever forget that. It will be 14 years since she passed away next month.”