Memory loss in actors.
In his new thriller Memory, Liam Neeson plays an assassin who refuses to do a job for a crime syndicate — and thus, he becomes the target.
Neeson’s character is afflicted with the onset of Alzheimer’s and he fights a failing memory to stay one jump ahead of his pursuers. His memory loss becomes so severe he doesn’t know who to trust.
Ever since he made the movie, Neeson said he can’t stop thinking about Bruce Willis.
The Die Hard star announced his retirement from acting recently because he cannot remember his lines. Willis, 67, suffers from aphasia which affects the ability to express and understand language.
“My heart goes out to him,” said Neeson, who is 69. “I think about him every day. Memory loss is particularly poignant for an actor.”
MEMORY LOSS IN ACTORS
Not being able to remember lines, of course, is the fear of every actor.
“I know several actors in London who have lost the ability to learn lines,” Neeson said. “And these are actors who have given extraordinary performances on stage and on film and television.”
Neeson graduated to full-fledged action hero in the 2009 Luc Besson thriller Taken. The movie was a worldwide hit — earning $230 million against a production cost of $25 million — and spawned two sequals.
Memory, an action movie by Casino Royale director Martin Campbell, was filmed in Bulgaria and also stars Guy Pearce and Monica Bellucci.
It will be released April 29.