<p id=”par-1_41″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/steven-spielberg/”>Steven Spielberg</a> helped Daniel Day-Lewis score another Oscar win after <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/daniel-day-lewis-worried-wasnt-right-bring-abraham-lincoln-life-lincoln.html/”>casting the actor</a> in his critically acclaimed project <em>Lincoln</em>. However, before Day-Lewis, Neeson was heavily sought after for the role. But Neeson quickly had an epiphany that <em>Lincoln </em>wasn’t for him.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-liam-neeson-turned-down-lincoln”>How Liam Neeson turned down ‘Lincoln’</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/LINCOLN-Liam-Neeson.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=’Liam Neeson posing at the premiere of “Marlowe”.’ class=”wp-image-3682072″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Liam Neeson | Kate Green/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-2_53″>Neeson almost collaborated with Spielberg again after <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/steven-spielberg-chose-liam-neeson-warren-beatty-schindlers-list.html/”>their <em>Schindler’s List </em>days</a>. The actor was strongly considered to play Abraham Lincoln in the titular feature. But this went beyond just small talks about doing the feature. In a 2010 interview with <a href=”https://www.gq.com/story/liam-neeson-cover-story-april-2014″>GQ</a>, Neeson went as far as to read the script for the movie.</p>
<p id=”par-3_48″>“Steven had approached me to play it—f***, it must be ten years ago. Sent me a script, and I was like, ‘God.’ And he told me roughly when he might want to shoot it, so I started researching. I maybe did four years’ worth of research,” Neeson said.</p>
<p id=”par-4_48″>Neeson shared that he eventually received a revised version of the script that seemed to be similar to the movie Spielberg and Day-Lewis did. Neeson would do a table reading with other actors. And it was here that he realized he might’ve not been fit for the job.</p>
<p id=”par-5_90″>“I want to think it was toward the end of April, Steven got together a reading, and we all sat: Sally Field, John Lithgow. Oh, just great actors. And Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Steven, of course. We started reading this, and there was an intro, and then I see <em>Lincoln</em>: where I have to start speaking, and I just—a thunderbolt moment. I thought, “I’m not supposed to be here. This is gone. I’ve passed my sell-by date. I don’t want to play this Lincoln. I can’t be him,” Neeson remembered.</p>
<p id=”par-6_13″>Neeson would eventually bring his concerns to Spielberg, who obliged the actor’s request.</p>
<p id=”par-7_86″>“Afterward, Steven came over, and I said, ‘Steven, you have to recast this now.’ And he said, ‘What are you talking about?’ And I said, ‘I’m serious. You have to recast it.’ So I went back home, and that night I called Doris, and I had a wee chat with her. And then I called Steven, and I said, ‘Steven, this is not for me. I can’t explain it. It’s gone. It’s not…’ And he got it. He said, ‘Okay.’ And that was it,” Neeson remembered.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-liam-neeson-would-still-like-to-do-an-abraham-lincoln-movie”>Liam Neeson would still like to do an Abraham Lincoln movie</h2>
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<iframe title=”Lincoln Official Trailer #1 (2012) Steven Spielberg Movie HD” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/KJVuqYkI2jQ?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-8_48″>Even though Neeson turned down <em>Lincoln</em>, he would’ve still liked another crack at the historical figure. But he saw himself playing the type of Lincoln movie that Spielberg originally had planned. This would’ve been different than Day-Lewis’ <em>Lincoln</em>, which only covered one section of the former president’s story.</p>
<p id=”par-9_59″>“I’d still like to do Lincoln’s story. As much as I admired the film, there’s all of America and all of the rest of the world who haven’t a f***ing clue who Lincoln is, who he was. I think the film shows him, yes, but I think I’d still like to do an old-fashioned biography of Lincoln,” he said.</p>
<p id=”par-10_21″>Still, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/liam-neeson-originally-thought-movie-taken-straight-video.html/”>the <em>Taken </em>star</a> didn’t regret passing on the role. He seemed more than happy with Day-Lewis’ interpretation of Spielberg’s Lincoln.</p>
<p id=”par-11_48″>“Daniel is—Daniel Day’s an old pal, and I think Daniel maybe had been approached first; I don’t know the history of that, but I was thrilled that Daniel played him, and when I saw the film, I was like, ‘He’s f***ing Abraham Lincoln. This is perfect,” he said.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-steven-spielberg-felt-about-liam-neeson-exiting-lincoln”>How Steven Spielberg felt about Liam Neeson exiting ‘Lincoln’</h2>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”How Daniel Day-Lewis Found Abraham Lincoln’s Voice | Oprah’s Next Chapter | Oprah Winfrey Network” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/5g9v8y5FvSo?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-12_60″>Although Spielberg thought about casting Neeson, he was adamant that Day-Lewis was the only actor for the role. So much so that <em>Lincoln </em>might not have been made without the actor’s involvement. In a 2011 interview with <a href=”https://collider.com/daniel-day-lewis-steven-spielberg-lincoln-interview/”>Collider</a>, Spielberg shared what he felt about Neeson exiting the film. Which would later pave the way for Day-Lewis to star in it.</p>
<p id=”par-13_74″>“The planets lined up in a good position, but that was out of my control and not even on my mind, at that the time. At that point, I had just accepted the fact that I would make <em>Lincoln</em>, if Daniel decided to play him, and I would not make <em>Lincoln</em>, had Daniel decided not to play him. It was as simple as that. It had gotten to that point, with me,” Spielberg said.</p>
<p id=”par-14_64″>“So, the timeline was simply that I had approached Daniel first, to play Lincoln, but <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/daniel-day-lewis-turned-schindlers-list-learning-steven-spielberg-direct.html/”>he turned me down</a>,” he added. “That was about eight or nine years ago. And then, Liam and I had a very healthy flirt about possibly doing it together. And then, we both decided to do other things. And then, I came back to Daniel. So, that’s the timeline.”</p>