Why Liam Neeson didn't potray James Bond

Natasha Richardson with Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson seems like an obvious choice to play James Bond: He's hot but dapper - everything we associate with the likes of Sean Connery and Daniel Craig. So why didn't he portray 007? Well, because Natasha Richardson wanted to get married.

Natasha Richardson with Liam Neeson; the actress passed away in 2009 Pic/AFP

Neeson told an UK daily that the late actress, to whom he was married for 15 years before her untimely death in 2009, told him he could either take the role as Bond or they could get hitched. It must have been true love, because Neeson chose the latter.

"It was about 18 or 19 years ago and my wife-to-be said, ‘If you play James Bond we're not getting married!' And I had to take that on board, because I did want to marry her," he said.

Neeson didn't explain exactly why Richardson wasn't okay with them getting married and Neeson playing Bond but the best guess we could come up with is that she didn't want him injured while performing his own stunts.