Liam Neeson is striking a blow for older men

LIAM NEESON may play the ultimate tough guy on screen — but put him in traffic, and he insists he doesn’t feel very brave.

By Georgia Humphreys

LIAM NEESON may play the ultimate tough guy on screen — but put him in traffic, and he insists he doesn’t feel very brave.

“There’s crazy drivers out there,” the Northern Irish actor admits in his notably slow and tranquil voice. “That always scares me a little bit.”

The 65-year-old has starred in everything from memorable romcoms to superhero flicks, and was even nominated for an Oscar for the epic drama Schindler’s List.

And yet, later on in his career, it’s action roles, like his hit film Taken, which we’ve arguably come to associate most with him.

When it comes to The Commuter, his latest fight-scene-heavy film, the appeal was the chance to collaborate with director Jaume Collet-Serra for the fourth time.

“When we did Non-Stop, which was set on an aeroplane, I just thought he was so inventive, considering we were on set for three months, with his camera angles and stuff — always telling the story, never showing off with the camera,” remarks the actor.

And Liam says Collet-Serra has done the same with The Commuter — only this time, the drama takes place on a train in New York.

“Asked how important it is for him to try to create different characters each time within the action genre, the Ballymena-born star says: “I’m not one of those actors that goes in and tries changing my voice, or putting on false noses, to be different. I’m not very good at all that stuff.”

But what he did want to achieve with The Commuter is to play someone that audiences can empathise with. “The guy’s reached the age of 60,” he explains, before adding with a chuckle: “I’m 65, so I tried to get it down to 55, but the director said, ‘No, it has to be 60’.

“He loses his job, because he’s reached that age — they want younger blood in. So, I think audiences kind of identify with that, unfortunately — certainly in America, and maybe it’s true in Britain too. The middle class has been shattered.”

On the topic of getting older, does Neeson think men face the same sort of ageism as women do in film?

“I have lots of friends who are brilliant actresses and they haven’t worked as much as they should have done on film,” says the actor, who hit the headlines this week for telling The Late Late Show on RTÉ that the Hollywood sexual harassment scandal has sparked “a bit of a witch hunt”.

“It can be tough on guys too, but it’s really hard for women,” he says.

Indeed, one could argue that Neeson has successfully reshaped any idea that action roles are meant for younger men. “I’d rehearse and rehearse with Mark and the stunt guys — you have to, otherwise you get hurt — after the shooting day ended,” he says of The Commuter. “And it was great fun. It demands a level of fitness, so I was in the gym for 45 minutes every morning before going on set.”

And don’t believe any rumours that he plans to retire from action films soon. “I’m planning to do a couple more in this genre, one more with Jaume next year, all being well,” he reveals.

“I’d like to think that I know when an audience is going to look at me and go, ‘Oh come on! You can’t outrun a train! You can’t outrun a horse! Don’t be stupid’. So then I’ll get out of that genre, I think.

“But, at the moment, I’m fit and I keep healthy. We’ll see how it goes.”

The Commuter is in cinemas tomorrow, Friday