It’s been almost five years since Tony award winning actress Natasha Richardson died from injuries sustained in a skiing accident at the age of 45. And her husband, Liam Neeson, still can’t make heads or tails of the tragic event.
In an interview with Andersen Cooper on 60 Minutes, the Irish actor spoke about how her death still doesn’t seem real to him. He said, “There’s periods now in our New York residence when I hear the door opening, especially the first couple of years…Any time I hear that door opening, I still think I’m going to hear her.”
Richardson took a fall while skiing at the Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec, Canada. She appeared to be fine after the accident, and she sent the paramedics away. However several hours later, she complained of a headache and was taken to the hospital. She died the following day from swelling around her brain. Neeson spoke of his decision to remove his wife from life support, “She was on life support…I went to her and I told her I loved her, said ‘Sweetie, you’re not coming back from this, you’ve banged your head’…she and I had made a pact, if any of us got into a vegetative state that we’d pull the plug…that was my immediate thought…’Okay, these tubes have to go. She’s gone.”
The Taken star told Cooper that he kept his wife alive long enough for family and friends to say goodbye. The enormous grief still washes over Neeson today. “It hits you. It’s like a wave. You get this profound feeling of instability.”
Neeson’s next project is the action movie Non-Stop which is set to hit theaters next weekend. In the film, Neeson plays a federal air marshall on an international flight who receives several text messages stating that one passenger will be killed every 20 minutes until $150 million is transferred to a secure bank account.
The 61-year-old has recently had a run of action movies, including three Taken films and The Grey. He confesses that his age is not reflective of his recent roles. “I’m 61 years of age, man, you know? Going around, fighting these guys, yeah, I feel a wee bit embarrassed, you know?”
The actor’s 60 Minutes interview will air on Sunday, February 23 at 7 pm ET.
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