14 DAY TRIAL // Recent years have seen Liam Neeson emerge as one of the hottest, most likeable and bankable action stars of his generation, which, in itself, is a very impressive feat. Director Joe Carnahan, who worked with him in “The Grey,” knows how this came to happen.
At 59, Liam can carry a movie all on his own, even it's a very physically challenging role he has to play, as was the case in “Take” and the more recent “The Grey,” now playing in theaters.
Carnahan knows why this is happening: Hollywood is lacking severely in this department. Because it favors only cute boys instead of real men, Liam was allowed to become a “classic Hollywood hero” even though his own age should have worked against him.
Neeson is very real and convincing on screen, the director believes, as he states in a new interview cited by Film News.
“I don’t think it’s crazy when you have a town now that has put so much premium on boys instead of men. And has put so many shirtless 17-year-olds in front of the camera and tried to pass off as a masculine form,” the director says when asked whether he finds Neeson's popularity odd.
Neeson has the right attitude and the experience to back it up. He's not just an empty package, as is the case with these boys that are all the rage right now, Carnahan continues.
“I have nothing against the younger generations, but I feel when I look in their eyes, I don’t see [expletive], man. I don’t see a life lived, I don’t see experience, I don’t see dirt under the nails, I don’t see loss, tragedy, you name it,” he explains.
“The reason that a guy like Liam, who’s nearly 60 years old who is having this resurgent kind of career swing is because we are sorely lacking in his ilk in this business right now,” the director adds.
As he sees it, Neeson could greenlit any movie, regardless of genre. There's no denying that his name is enough to get people interested in a project – and the way they're promoting the upcoming “Battleship” is a clear example of that.
“Oh yeah, I know for a fact he shot a week on Battleship, he was on it one week. You look at that trailer and it looks like a Liam Neeson film. So there you go, he was obviously a huge component, he was put in that trailer to get peoples’ interest, because he does. He’s Zeus,” Carnahan says with a smile.
Indeed, that Neeson is extremely popular these days is no longer a secret. He's also become a hit online, with some Liam Neeson memes even saying he taught Chuck Norris how to be this bad.