Summary

Liam Neeson is one of the most beloved and respected actors of his generation. Of course, to people of a certain age, he’s most associated with theStar Warsfranchise and his character in that series, Qui-Gon Jinn, famously met an untimely death that Neeson wasn’t too fond of.

Liam Neeson’s storied career can be somewhat succinctly broken down into a few pre-Star Warsand post-Star Warseras. Throughout the 1980s, he had his early, lesser-known roles in films likeExcalibur,The Mission, andThe Dead Pool. A talented actor, no doubt, but one who wasn’t selling movie tickets to a broad audience. Then, 1993’sSchindler’s Listhit, and he became a go-to actor for prestige dramas in Hollywood. Films likeNell,Michael Collins, andLes Misérablesfollowed, continuing to build his reputation as a reliable actor with gravitas. Then he was essentially the lead character of and was first billed in 1999’sStar Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. Neeson then became a blockbuster star, showing up in films likeBatman Begins,Clash of the Titans, and threeChronicles of Narniamovies. He also had a monster sleeper hit with 2008’sTaken,which turned him into an action star overnight and launched the latest phase of his career, where he starred in thrillers likeThe Grey,Non-Stop, andRun All Night. Now,thanks toThe Naked Gun, he’s a comedy star as well. Liam Neeson has done it all.

Neeson recently sat down for a lengthy career retrospective withGQ. It gave the legendary actor a chance to run through his experiences working on famous films likeSchindler’s Listand lesser-known ones likeDarkman.Perhaps most interesting were his comments about playing Qui-Gon Jinn inThe Phantom Menace. “I thought my death was a bit namby-pamby,“he elaborated.“I’m supposed to be a Master Jedi, you know? My character fell for that? ‘Oh, I’m going for your face! No, I’m not, I’m going for your stomach!’ ‘Oh! You got me!’ It’s like, ‘Oh, please.’ Hardly a master Jedi.”

Liam Neeson Was Not Wild About Qui-Gon Jinn’s Death Scene In The Phantom Menace

Let’s Be Honest: He Should’ve Been Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anyway

Outside of his quibbles with Qui-Gon’s death scene, Neeson seemed to enjoy his time working onThe Phantom Menace.He claimed that when he andEwan McGregorfirst drew their lightsabers, they began doing the iconic sounds with their mouths. This prompted George Lucas to respond, “Boys, you don’t have to do that. We can add that stuff.“Neeson also claimed that Lucas “doesn’t like directing, period” and that the famous director only “starts enjoying the process” when he gets into the editing suite afterward.

Neeson also enjoyed getting to briefly return to the role for theObi-Wan KenobiDisney+ seriesmore than twenty years afterThe Phantom Menacehit theaters:“It was nice to recreate that and be with Ewan after, I don’t know, 18 [or] 20 years, you know?“Given how illustrious and successful Neeson has been in the years sinceStar Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menacerocked movie theaters everywhere, it makes sense that he would look back on his time in a galaxy far, far away with fondness.

The majority of theStar Warsfranchise is currently available to stream on Disney+.