With director Robert Lorenz’s action-thriller The Marksman opening this weekend in select theaters, I recently got to speak with Liam Neeson about his latest film. During the interview he talked about what drew him to this role, why he loved Scott Frank’s Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, if there is a role or genre he’d still like to do, and how he’d like to play Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in Ewan McGregor’s Obi Wan Disney+ series.
If you haven’t seen the trailers, The Marksman is about a hardened Arizona rancher (Neeson) living on the Texas border that just wants to catch a break after a rough year. But when he witnesses an 11-year-old migrant (Jacob Perez) fleeing with his mother (Teresa Ruiz) from drug cartel assassins, he reluctantly gets involved to try and save the son. Katheryn Winnick also stars as his stepdaughter in the film.
Check out what Neeson had to say below followed by the official synopsis.
Liam Neeson:
- Why did he want to be part of The Marksman?
- At this point in his career is there a role or genre he still wants to do?
- Is he surprised the fans want him to return to Star Wars and play Qui-Gon?
- How he’d like to be in the upcoming Obi-Wan series on Disney+
Here’s the official synopsis for The Marksman:
Hardened Arizona rancher Jim Hanson (Liam Neeson) simply wants to be left alone as he fends off eviction notices and tries to make a living on an isolated stretch of borderland. But everything changes when Hanson, an ex-Marine, witnesses 11-year-old migrant Miguel (Jacob Perez) fleeing with his mother Rosa (Teresa Ruiz) from drug cartel assassins led by the ruthless Mauricio (Juan Pablo Raba). After being caught in a shootout, an injured Rosa begs Jim to take her son to safety to her family in Chicago. Defying his stepdaughter Sarah (Katheryn Winnick), Jim sneaks Miguel out of the local U.S. Customs and Border Patrol station and together, they hit the road with the group of killers in pursuit. Jim and Miguel slowly begin to overcome their differences and begin to forge an unlikely friendship, while Mauricio and his fellow assassins blaze a cold-blooded trail, hot on their heels.