Liam Neeson once shared that Sharon Stone didn’t want him starring in her movie ‘The Quick and the Dead,’ despite everyone else wanting him on board.
Taken actor Liam Neeson believed he had a good shot at starring in the 1995 western The Quick and the Head. But although he made a good impression with most involved in the film, in the end he believed Sharon Stone turned him down.
Sharon Stone helped put together ‘The Quick and the Dead’
MADRID, SPAIN – JULY 16: Actor Liam Liam Neeson | Carlos R. Alvarez/WireImage
Stone played a huge role in developing the 1995 western Quick and the Dead. Being a sort of passion project for the Basic Instinct star, she made important decisions on the film, including choosing Sam Raimi to direct.
“He was the only person on my list, and if Sam hadn’t made this movie, I don’t think I would have made it. It’s the kind of picture I don’t think just anyone could have made, even any great directors, because of the kind of material it is,” she once said in a 1994 interview with the LA Times.
She also had a hand in bringing Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe on board as well. Crowe especially benefited from the film, and was grateful to Stone for giving him the opportunity.
“She was kind of in a sword fight with the male producers on the film and she just put her foot down and said, ‘I’m going to hire the person I want to hire as the love interest,’” Crowe once said on Late Night with Seth Meyers (via People). “If it wasn’t for her strength of commitment, I don’t know how long it might have been before I got an American movie. I’ve got a lot to thank her for.”
Liam Neeson once believed Sharon Stone blocked him from starring in ‘The Quick and the Dead’
Batman Begins star Liam Neeson also tried to be a part of the 1995 Western. At the time, Neeson was on the rise in Hollywood, especially after his Oscar-nominated performance in Schindler’s List. But despite starring in a couple of notable projects, the actor soon found his career floundering a bit.
Director David Yates, who’d worked with Neeson on projects like Suspect and Krull, felt that Neeson was being underutilized.
“The ones he was getting were obviously [opposite] all the CAA leading ladies. He was thought to be a good person for them. I think that Liam demands something a little bit stronger than that,” Yates once said in an interview with the LA Times.
Eventually, Neeson would find himself in consideration for a role in Stone’s Quick and the Dead. But although many wanted him in the film, Neeson asserted that the decision ultimately came down to Stone.
“It was the reverse position of what an actor usually finds himself in,” Neeson said. “Sam wanted me, the writer wanted me, the producers wanted me, Universal wanted me. Sharon Stone apparently didn’t want me. The annoying thing was that I was having a holiday with my wife in Thailand and we were flying out from London, and I was asked if I could fly to Thailand via L.A. to meet with Sharon. It was a very pleasant meeting. Obviously the decision had been made. I think Sharon was just going through the motions.”
“It wasn’t Sharon. It was the production that decided a different way,” the representative said.
Liam Neeson losing the role in ‘Dead Poets Society’ was one of his great disappointments
Neeson had the opportunity to star in the acclaimed 1989 feature that earned the late Robin Williams an Oscar-nomination for Best Actor. He was attached to the project when filmmaker Jeff Kanew was supposed to direct.
Neeson, who enjoyed the script, impressed Kanew with his take, but eventually Kanew was fired from the movie. After Kanew’s departure, Neeson would follow suit, and called missing out on Dead Poets Society “one of the huge disappointments of my life.”
