Liam Neeson: Space cowboy
As one of the major characters in "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace," the character of Qui-Gon Jinn is sure to bring much attention to the doorstep of Liam Neeson, who portrays him.
"I kind of liken him to the Wild West days of the sheriff or a marshal who's a regulator, a peacekeeper, and knows how to handle the six gun - which in this case is a very cool lightsaber," says Neeson, later adding, "I always wanted to be a cowboy, you know. And this is Cowboys in Space for me."
Qui-Gon Jinn is a Jedi master, not a Jedi knight. The difference, he explains to CBS This Morning co-anchor Mark McEwen, is comparable to the one between a major and a captain in the army. He also is part Samurai warrior, with a touch of a Buddhist monk.
As the Jedi master, Neeson had to convincingly deliver such lines as:
"I request the boy be tested, Master. Finding him was the will of the Force, I have no doubt of that."
"Do you hear that? That's the sound of a thousand terrible things heading this way."
"I shall do what I must, Obi-Wan."
Neeson told McEwen that Phantom Menace is not going to change his life.
McEwen: "But it's going to, though."
Neeson: "No, it's not."
McEwen: "How can it not?"
Neeson: "Because it's not."
McEwen: "Okay."
Neeson: "Because I'm telling you as a 46-year-old man, father of two, it's not."
In the end, though, Neeson says, he knows he cannot control public reaction to his role in Phantom Menace.
"That's outside my realm," he says. "You know, I'm an actor. I played a part in this that I was thrilled to do. And it was nearly a year and a half ago. So . . . maybe it is going to be a 900-pound gorilla that's going to 'Pow! Pow!,' going around the world."
And if it looks like fun up on the big screen, to dress up and play Qui-Gon Jinn, well, that's because it was fun. A little.
"I mean, the 10-year-old boy was very close to my chest . . . and certainly, in my case, it was very much 'dress up,' you know. Hair and beard and let's pretend," says Neeson.
Why did he become an actor?
"Because it beats real work," Neeson quips, before adding, "I don't know. I don't know . . . It's been a toss of the dice for me. I've been really lucky to get where I've got, and I genuinely mean that."
He and his wife, actress Natasha Richardson, have two sons. What's the best thing about being married to someone who is also an actor?
"They understand," Neeson replies.
And the worst thing?
"They understand."