Liam Neeson has been chatting – not for the first time – about giving up action films. But it seems he’s not done yet.

When Liam Neeson took on the role of Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jin in 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, it seemed like great casting. The film’s director, George Lucas seemed to have picked up on Neeson’s whole ‘strength in stillness’ energy that his characters often possessed, definitely the right vibe for a venerable and powerful jedi.

However, nobody really saw what was coming next, with The Phantom Menace‘s frenetic lightsaber duels and action sequences acting as something of a launchpad for Neeson’s new career as an action star.

By the time Taken released in 2008, Neeson’s newly acquired bona fides in the genre were legitimised and he’s since spent the better part of the two decades since making all sorts of action movies. Some better than others. However, all good things must come to an end and Neeson has revealed that his time in the genre is almost up, telling People, (via Dark Horizons) “maybe the end of next year. I think that’s it. I’m 72 – it has to stop at some stage. You can’t fool audiences.”

Neeson’s long-time stunt collaborator, Mark Vanselow already does lots of the actors physical stunts but Neeson draws the line at ceding up fight sequences too. When that happens, he claims, it’s time to bring down the curtain.  “I don’t want Mark to be fighting my fight scenes for me,” he adds.

Still, the actor has plenty to look forward to once he’s done punching people.

He’s starring in a remake of The Naked Gun and will get a chance to test out his comedy chops, so who knows, perhaps the next two decades will see Neeson become a mainstay of that genre? “Whether I can carry it or not, I honestly don’t know,” he said about the upcoming film.

To be taking those kinds of risks with his career at 72 is something to applaud, and despite constantly publicly portraying a sense of dread about the project over the last few years, we’re pretty sure Neeson has what it takes to make his part in the project work. We’ll bring you more on The Naked Gun, not to mention Neeson’s retirement from the action genre, whenever we hear it.