Liam Neeson has revealed that he was once considered for the role of James Bond, but his then-girlfriend Natasha Richardson wasn’t thrilled about it. Speaking on the Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast, Neeson shared how he almost landed the iconic role: “They were interested in me after Schindler’s List.”

When asked why he didn’t seize the opportunity, he clarified: “No I wasn’t offered James Bond. I think I was on their radar for five minutes.”

The Taken star admitted to host Conan O’Brien that he would have been open to the role if the offer had been more solid: “Yeah, when I first started getting a couple of calls about whether I’d be interested, I said ‘yeah, I would be.'”

However, his relationship with Richardson, who later became his wife, posed a hurdle: “Natasha and I weren’t married at the time, and she said ‘If you are offered James Bond, we’re not getting married.'”

Neeson humorously suggested that Richardson might have been put off by the prospect of him spending extensive time filming with “beautiful women,” reports the Express.

Liam first crossed paths with Natasha in 1993 while they were both performing on Broadway. They quickly fell in love and got married a year later, going on to have two sons, Micheal and Daniel.

Tragically, Natasha passed away at the young age of 45 in a skiing accident in 2009.

The actor has had an illustrious career, starring in numerous blockbuster films over the past few decades. One of his most notable roles was in the action-thriller Taken, where he portrayed a father desperately trying to find his kidnapped daughter.

However, his most distinguished performance was arguably in the 1993 film, Schindler’s List. His portrayal was so powerful that he received nominations for Best Actor at both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.