Liam Neeson Opened Up About Working With Martin Scorsese On ‘Silence’

During an interview with Business Insider’s reporter Jason Guerrasio, Liam Neeson opened up about working with Martin Scorsese on Silence.

While it was roughly two years ago, that Martin Scorsese first approached Liam about a role in Silence. Martin had been working on the movie adaption of the novel for nearly three decades. During the interview with Business Insider, Neeson admitted during the phone interview that he wasn’t that impressed with the novel.

“It was very dull.”

It wasn’t until Liam read the script of the movie that he changed his mind. “The issues in the book really came alive for me,” the Oscar-nominated actor admitted.

In Silence, Liam Neeson played the role of Father Ferreira. Father Ferreira was a Jesuit priest who was on a venture to spread Christianity throughout the 17th-century Japan. Liam’s character is seized by samurai who do not want the religion in Japan. The samurai proceed to put Ferreira through a number of different types of torture until he agrees to renounce his faith in Christianity.

During the interview, Neeson spent a great deal of time discussing the torture scenes in the movie and how he prepared for them.

“Beforehand, to get some type of feel for it, I hung upside down on that machine that you’ll find at the gym, inversion table, and you can hang upside down. So I did that in preparation.”

Liam also mentioned that his experience making The Mission– in some ways – did help him prepare for making Silence. Neeson did have previous experience working with Martin Scorsese. This experience, however, was very different. Martin had been working on the film for 26 years, and Neeson knew it meant a great deal to him. He claimed working on the movie had a very different energy.

“I knew how important Silence was for Martin. He spent 26 years putting the film together. The sets on Silence were incredibly quiet. He did demand from all the crew, especially when he was talking to his actors before we do a scene, he did demand absolute silence, and he got it. He did create this space for you to do your best work, to really focus.”

Forbes points out the bombing of Martin Scorsese’s Silence at the box office was more or less expected. The movie adaption cost roughly $50 million to produce and starred drama stars Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver.

A review of Martin Scorcese's latest film starring Liam Neeson, 'Silence' by @danjcava. ??https://t.co/VrtFe4iLH4

— CLTure® ( culture ) (@CLTure) January 15, 2017

While – as Forbes pointed out – the movie got strong reviews for the most part. It wasn’t a movie typical movie goers have an interest in seeing. Forbes speculated that while those who saw the movie seemed to enjoy it, it just wasn’t a movie a lot of people wanted to see.

“Garfield and Driver aren’t openers, and the film isn’t exactly something for which you splurge for a babysitter on a date night.”

During the release, the film Silence made roughly $1.9 million from Friday to Sunday. Forbes does not believe the movie is going to do that well – or make any money – in the United States. Forbes, however, speculates the movie may do better outside of North American.

If you are interested in seeing Liam Neeson in his role as Father Ferreira, Silence is presently playing in theaters. If you’ve already been to the movies to see the film, please don’t forget to share your thoughts on it and whether or not you thought Liam did a good job as Father Ferreira with us in the comments section found down below.

[Featured Image by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images]