Clint Eastwood and Liam Neeson appeared on the same screen in The Dead Pool in 1998. Buddy Van Horn directed the action/crime film. When Neeson worked with Eastwood, he had a plethora of amazing memories with him. He learned some life lessons from the 92-year-old actor, but he was also irritated at times.
The Taken actor’s character in The Dead Pool was very different from his typical action hero roles. Neeson shared a lot about his time working with Eastwood.
Liam Neeson explained why Clint Eastwood was shown taller than him in the movie
Both Liam Neeson and Clint Eastwood are among Hollywood’s tallest actors. They have amazing looks, but their height gives also makes fans drool over them. Both Eastwood and Neeson are said to be 6’4″ tall. During the filming of The Dead Pool, the Taken 2 actor revealed that the producers wanted Neeson to appear shorter than the 92-year-old actor. It was because Eastwood played the lead character in the film The Dead Pool.
In an interview, Neeson recalled how he was made to look a bit shorter than Eastwood, the 70-year-old actor said,
“They actually put me down a couple of inches shorter than Clint. Where we were filmed side by side, he stood on curbs and the upside slopes of hills. Because he was the hero, I was made shorter. That galled me.”
Even though there were no bitter feelings between Neeson and the Cry Macho actor, Neeson was disappointed because of this decision by the makers.
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Liam Neeson said he got rejected because of his height
The Memory actor has never been shy about admitting how frustrating the acting career can be at times. He recalled how, when he was auditioning for different roles, he was often turned down for various reasons. He also mentioned that his height got in the way at times. In an interview, Neeson said,
“The profession is all about rejection, you know? You go out for this part and you’re rejected, and you’re not rejected because of your education, you’re rejected because of this. The space you occupy. You’re too tall. You’re too Irish. Your nose is too broken. You’re too this, you’re too that. So it’s –you want to save your kids from all that, you know?”
In an interview, Neeson also recalled a conversation he had with Eastwood during the shooting of The Dead Pool. He said he had a few suggestions regarding his role in the movie that he wanted to share with Eastwood. He went to his trailer and he recalled the moment and he said
“I sat down with him and he listened to my eager, earnest spiel about changing these lines, I can’t remember. So I finished and he looked at me and said, ‘Interesting’, and kept me waiting. Then he said, ‘Well, the way I see it, Liam, you hit a few marks and say a few lines. What’s the problem?’”
Since then Neeson said he has been following this advice given by Eastwood. The Taken 3 actor still remembers this conversation with the Dirty Harry actor.
Source: Cheatsheet
