Ballymena's own Liam Neeson has said he hopes to continue doing his own fight scenes well into his 70s.
The Hollywood legend was in Dublin last night for the premiere of Neil Jordan’s Marlowe, which broadcasts on St Patrick's Day on Sky Cinema.
The film sees Neeson play detective Philip Marlowe, a quieter character, compared to the roles he normally plays such as protective retiree CIA father Bryan Mills in Taken.
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But the star said despite turning 70, he loves to do his fight scenes in movies and will continue to do them.
He said: “I do the fighting, but as regards stunts, stunt I regard falling over a table or coming through a window I have a great guy, Mark Vanselow. We’ve done 27 films together. He’s my guy. On fighting, I love doing that myself.
“Oh yeah, I’m only 70,” he said laughing.
Liam said that while back home, he cannot wait to eat champ but won’t be indulging in any Guinness as he had to stop drinking a while ago.
He said: “Guinness I stopped because eventually you get to the age of 30 and it sticks to you.
“But yeah a bowl of champ, gravy, a big dab of Kerrygold butter, black pepper and salt,” he said.
Marlowe will be Liam’s 100th movie and there’s already talks he will team up again with Neil Jordan for his 101th film.
But he said over his 100 movies, he can name the ones he was totally wrong for.
“A film called Widows. I did it about four or five years ago. I was miscast. Absolutely. I can say that with clear… like ‘what are you doing?’
“It was Viola Davis and Brian Tyree Henry. They were really brilliant actors,” he recalled.
And Liam has no plans to slow down.
His 101th movie with Neil is hoping to be about a fictitious escape plot on notorious Riker’s Island.
Riker’s Ghost sees Neeson play a convict set for release who is forced to break a terrorist out of prison.
“This is a unique take on the prison escape,” said Neil Jordan. “A bare knuckle ride from incarceration to freedom, by someone who just wants to finish his term. The reluctant escapee will be played by Liam Neeson, and I can’t wait to explore this character with him.”
Liam said: “We’re hoping to do a film, it’s not put together yet, but it is a really good script Neil has written about a fictitious escape from Rikers Island. It’s a serious, serious prison on the east river of Manhattan in New York,” he said.
But Neeson also revealed another new project on the horizon – he is set to be in Naked Gun, playing the role of the late Leslie Nielsen’s character.
“There was a series of movies called Naked Gun and this guy Leslie Nielsen and he always played a heavy in movies and then he did a film called Airplane. It was a silly, silly movie and he was hilariously funny.
“So they devised these movies called Naked Gun and he played a nincompoop detective but he's a drop dead serious and he was hugely successful.
“Anyway, Paramount are rebooting this, and they asked me if I could play Leslie’s part. I’m doing that,” he added.
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