At this point, any sort of action film that Liam Neeson stars in can be considered some sort of spinoff or sequel to Taken. It may all look the same, and some people may be catching on to this. Now, studios may need to look for a new geriatric actor to fill the lead role in action films as Neeson sees a near-end to his career in the genre.

The 62-year-old Neeson spoke to The Guardian while promoting his upcoming Run All Night. During the interview he was asked how much action film he has left in him, and the actor responded with “Maybe two more years.” Hit the jump for more.

While the success of the Taken films spurred the development of these old man in action films, most couldn’t meet box office expectations and nearly all of them looked like scenes that were edited out of the Taken films adapted for a new story. Neeson isn’t disrespecting the genre, and he admits he wouldn’t be where he is today without the Taken films, but says that there is a limit.

Here’s what he told The Guardian about his future in action films,

He added that actions films boosted his career, and that “Hollywood seems to see me in a different light.”

Outside of the Taken films but still very much like them, Neeson has appeared in Unknown, The Grey, Non-Stop, A Walk Amongst The Tombstones, and the upcoming Run All Night.

But he hasn’t pigeonholed himself to those films, and has done a few others to distance himself of the action stuff like The LEGO Movie, A Million Ways To Die In The West, and will appear in A Monster Calls and Martin Scorsese’s Silence.

Now I wouldn’t hold it against him if he didn’t stick to his word, things change – and by that I mean seeing a nice 10-figure check being placed right in front of you – the actor has proven that he can also be an action mentor in films like Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Batman Begins. He had also said that he couldn’t imagine there being a Taken 3 after the Taken 2 press rounds.

One can only hope that if there is a Taken 4, they go with the title Taken 4 Ransom – bonus points if they can get Ron Howard to direct and Mel Gibson to costar.

Video

Run All Night Trailer:

Run All Night TV Spot #1:

[Source: The Guardian]