Liam Neeson Quitting Movie Biz

Says film actors are "treated like slaves"; announcement a Phantom Menace spoiler?

By Daniel Frankel May 06, 1999 5:00 PMTags
Film actors get treated like drones, and he's not going to take it anymore.

This, according to thesp Liam Neeson, who plays Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn in the upcoming Phantom Menace movie/landmark cultural event.

"I'm retiring from movies next year," says the 46-year-old Neeson in the June Redbook. When questioned about these remarks by USA Today gossip columnist Jeannie Williams, Neeson adds, "It's confirmed. I'm retired.

"Film is a director's medium," he explains to the paper. "We [actors] are basically puppets. Producers earn all the money, and you get the sense that they hate actors. The crews are treated like slaves."

Neeson, who claims he enjoyed playing writer Oscar Wilde on Broadway last year, says he'll now strictly do stage acting. "I don't think I can live with the inauthenticity of movies anymore," he adds. "I don't like watching them, especially my own stuff."

If he messes up in theater, Neeson explains, he has a chance to get things right the next night. There isn't anyone "shouting, 'Cut!' every after 10 seconds."

Asked by Williams whether a bad experience on the set of the Star Wars prequel had anything to do with his decision, Neeson replied, "No, it would be unfair to mention [any specific film]. It's accrued knowledge."

As for his Jedi role, count the actor's retirement as one more "spoiler" for more-avid-than-ever Star Wars fans, some of whom are already grumbling about how song titles on composer John Williams' Phantom Menace soundtrack--"Qui-Gon's Noble End" and "Qui-Gon's Funeral"--give away Neeson's character's fate.

"People are pissed. It's like calling a song 'Darth Vadar Is Luke Skywalker's Father!' " one angry fan posted in a Star Wars newsgroup.