Ballymena born Liam Neeson has sparked a race row he revealed that he once walked around ‘hoping’ to ‘kill’ a black person after a woman close to him was raped.
He says he walked the streets with a weapon as revenge.
The actor has been promoting his new film Cold Pursuit, and he told the Independent that ‘there’s something primal’ when you become angry.
He shared the story in response to a question about his new film Cold Pursuit, in which his character seeks revenge after his son is killed by a drug gang.
Neeson said that he was told about the rape after returning from a trip.
“She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way,” he told The Independent. “But my immediate reaction was I asked, did she know who it was? No. What colour were they? She said it was a black person.
“I went up and down areas with a cosh, hoping I’d be… approached by somebody. I’m ashamed to say that, and I did it for maybe a week – hoping some ‘black b******’ would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know. So that I could kill him.”
In Cold Pursuit, Neeson plays a snowplough driver named citizen of the year by his home town. He goes on a killing spree after his son is murdered by drug dealers.
In a previous film Taken, Neeson’s character seeks out the men who kidnapped his daughter.
The latest revelation has prompted a strong reaction on Twitter:
Me looking into why Liam Neeson is trending pic.twitter.com/tAKfaMkPVB
— Bangus (@IRL_Ojousama) February 4, 2019
When you see Liam Neeson trending, then you find out why… pic.twitter.com/svP8jY7qDu
— Jacob Davison (@JacobDavison_) February 4, 2019
Liam Neeson made the comments during an interview with The Independent. https://t.co/02bYWmNzK3
— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) February 4, 2019
"Liam Neeson" Twitter now ,,,, and after reading the article , he deserve that pic.twitter.com/BQ82P2phAy
— ARCHITECT OF NONSENSE (@ARCHITECTOFNON1) February 4, 2019
https://twitter.com/AjValdina/status/1092511540039860224