Liam Neeson Says His Late Wife Natasha Richardson Wouldn't Marry Him If He Played James Bond

Tommy McArdle
·2 min read
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Actor Liam Neeson and his wife actress Natasha Richardson attend "The 30th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards" at The St. Regis Hotel on January 13, 2005 in Century City, California.
Actor Liam Neeson and his wife actress Natasha Richardson attend "The 30th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards" at The St. Regis Hotel on January 13, 2005 in Century City, California.
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Stephen Shugerman/Getty

Liam Neeson says his late wife Natasha Richardson is the reason why he did not seriously consider portraying James Bond in the 1995 film GoldenEye.

While speaking with Rolling Stone about his new movie Marlowe in an interview published Monday, Neeson, 70, clarified that he "was not offered James Bond," but had considered the possibility of taking on the iconic spy role until Richardson, whom he married in 1994, stepped in.

"They looked at a bunch of actors. Schindler's List had come out and Barbara [Broccoli] had called me a couple of times to ask if I was interested, and I said, 'Yes, I would be interested,' " Neeson told the outlet. "And then my lovely wife [Natasha Richardson], 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]," he added. "I loved doing that s---!"

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Liam Neeson and actress Natasha Richardson attend the 33rd Annual American Ireland Fund Gala at The Tent at Lincoln Center on May 08, 2008 in New York City
Liam Neeson and actress Natasha Richardson attend the 33rd Annual American Ireland Fund Gala at The Tent at Lincoln Center on May 08, 2008 in New York City

Shawn Ehlers/WireImage

The Taken star went on to say that Richardson, who died in 2009 at 45 years old of blunt force trauma after falling while skiing at Quebec's Mont Tremblant, delivered him "a James Bond ultimatum" regarding the part.

"And she meant it! Come on, there's all those gorgeous girls in various countries getting into bed and getting out of bed," Neeson told Rolling Stone, laughing. "I'm sure a lot of her decision-making was based on that!"

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Neeson has referenced the "James Bond ultimatum" in the past, most notably in a 2014 interview in which he said he "had to take [Richardson's ultimatum] on board because I did want to marry her," per The Independent.

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Recalling his late wife's death, Neeson said elsewhere in the Rolling Stone interview that he did not "know how to answer" a question regarding how he stayed afloat in the aftermath of Richardson's death.

"Life goes on. Natasha's mother, Vanessa [Redgrave], and her sister [Joely Richardson] kind of moved in, and I had a wonderful assistant, Joanna," he told the outlet. "People just came to help, you know? In a big way. And I'll never, ever forget that."

Neeson's new movie Marlowe is in theaters now.