'Taken' Star Liam Neeson Talks About Weight Loss, Is He Suffering From Health Issues?
After shocking his fans in July because of his dangerously gaunt appearance, "Taken" actor, Liam Neeson, finally spilled what's behind his shocking weight loss.
A thin-looking Neeson recently freaked out everyone and gave rise to speculations that he is having health issues. However, everyone can now relax as he admitted that his weight loss is because of his new film, "Silence," according to Collider.
If his statement isn't enough for everyone to believe, his rep has even told Daily Mail that "he has never been healthier," therefore, there shouldn't be any worry for the 63-year-old actor.
During Los Cabos Film Festival in Mexico, the actor said that director Martin Scorsese wanted all of them "to look a bit more gaunt" for the movie. As a matter of fact, Neeson isn't alone in this requirement as Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield have already jumped into the weight loss challenge.
"Martin requires this level of [dedication] and I think it pays off," Neeson, who lost a total of 20 lbs., said.
Speaking more about the movie's director, Neeson added that Scorsese is "intimidating" and "legendary" at the same time. Aside from requiring a certain level of dedication, the actor also said that Scorsese is strict in wanting "absolute silence on set" whenever he talks, and everybody has to stop working whenever he gives his directions or when he's explaining a scene.
"I mean everybody -- the guy that's painting 400 yards away has to stop. If he hears one tiny sound it's shattered for him so he commands that respect. He commands that silence and especially for this film it was necessary," Neeson said.
In the new movie, Neeson will reprise the role of a Jesuit Portuguese priest, Cristóvão Ferreira, who enters a mission to spread Christianity in Japan. The story was based on a 1966 novel by Shusaku Endo of the same title.
While his weight loss has been highly talked about for months, he said that it was actually Driver who has taken the challenge to the extremes.
"I know Adam went to the extreme," he said. "He's an ex-marine and when he's given an order, he follows it through. He was like something out of Auschwitz," he added.
As to why he kept silent about the reason of his weight loss, Hollywood Life report says that it may have been due to the film easily becoming an Oscar favorite even before it has been stated in theaters.
"Perhaps they didn't want the buzz about the film to come too soon and risk the public forgetting about it before is actually came out," the publication speculated.
Neeson's film, "Silence," will hit theaters in 2016.
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