Liam Neeson has a rough plan to stop starring in action movies at the end of 2025.
At the start of his professional acting career, Neeson largely starred in drama movies such as 1984’s The Bounty, 1986’s The Mission, and 1992’s Husbands and Wives. He earned an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination for playing Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, which was released in 1993.
After starring in a handful of blockbusters such as 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace and 2005’s Batman Begins, Neeson played Byran Mills in 2008’s Taken, directed by Pierre Morel.
The film — which spawned a franchise followed by two sequels and a television series featuring Clive Standen — was a huge hit as it transformed Neeson into a hardcore action hero.
“It just seemed to have touched something in the psychic nerve of moviegoing audiences,” he told PEOPLE.
Following Taken, Neeson continued to star in a number of similar movies throughout the years, including 2011’s Unknown, 2014’s Non-Stop, 2015’s Run All Night, 2018’s The Commuter, 2019’s Cold Pursuit, 2020’s Honest Thief, 2021’s The Marksman, and more.
Now, Neeson says his time as an action hero may be coming to an end.
What did Liam Neeson say about retiring from action movies?
“I’m 72 — it has to stop at some stage,” he said. “You can’t fool audiences. I don’t want [stunt work collaborator Mark Vanselow] to be fighting my fight scenes for me.”
Neeson said that, while he hasn’t firmly committed to any kind of plan at this point, he’s looking to step away from action movies in 2025.
“Maybe the end of next year,” he said. “I think that’s it.”
Neeson’s next action movie is titled Absolution. Directed by Hans Petter Moland, the film also stars Ron Perlman and Yolonda Ross. It will be released in United States theaters on November 1, 2024. He’s also been tapped to play Frank Drebin Jr. in a new Naked Gun movie that arrives in August 2025.
