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Liam Neeson has explained why he took himself out of the running to succeed Timothy Dalton as James Bond. 

After his Oscar-nominated performance in 1994's Schindler's List, Neeson was approached by Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, but quickly nipped the offer in the bud on the insistence of his then fiancé (and future wife), Natasha Richardson.

"Schindler's List had come out and Barbara had called me a couple of times to ask if I was interested, and I said, 'Yes, I would be interested,'" Neeson recalled in an interview with Rolling Stone. "And then my lovely wife, God rest her soul, said to me while we were shooting Nell down in the Carolinas, 'Liam, I want to tell you something: If you play James Bond, we’re not getting married.'"

Continuing, Neeson said that he made light of the situation by "going behind her back, making my fingers as though I'm holding a gun, and [humming the James Bond theme]."

"She gave me a James Bond ultimatum," he added. "And she meant it! Come on, there's all those gorgeous girls in various countries getting into bed and getting out of bed. I'm sure a lot of her decision-making was based on that!"

The Bond role ultimately went to Pierce Brosnan, who played 007 in four movies beginning with 1995's GoldenEye. Neeson and Richardson were married from 1994 until her death in 2009.

Can you picture a younger Liam Neeson as James Bond?