Liam Neeson put love before Bond after late wife Natasha Richardson's ultimatum: we look at other ultimatums

We all have opportunities in life to choose our priorities, and the actor Liam Neeson has admitted that an ultimatum from his late wife, Natasha Richardson, ensured he put their relationship before any film role.

A reporter recently asked the 70-year-old actor if it was true he turned down the lead role in 1995’s Golden Eye, Neeson said he was 'interested' but never offered the part.

Neeson said that in 1994, just before their wedding, his late wife Natasha Richardson told him if he plays James Bond, "we’re not getting married".

"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,’" Neeson told Rolling Stone's Marlow Stern.

"I would tease her by going behind her back, making my fingers as though I’m holding a gun, and then [hums the James Bond theme]. I loved doing that sh*t!" he continued.

"She gave me a James Bond ultimatum. And she meant it!" he said, adding that her threat might have been due to "all those gorgeous girls in various countries getting into bed and getting out of bed".

The actors were married for 16 years until her death in 2009, when she died of a head injury from a skiing accident in Canada. The couple had two sons together, Micheál and Daniel.

We look at other examples of celebrity relationship ultimatums.

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner

Sophie was determined to cast a spell on Joe with her ultimatum involving Harry Potter. Joe explained on the Late Late Show with James Corden: "Sophie, she said, 'Look, if we're going to get married' - and it was actually, 'If you're going to date me, you have to watch the Harry Potters.' Because every Christmas, for those of you that are watching that don't know, every Christmas in the UK they just stream and play Harry Potter, all of them. So I watched them all, I fell in love with it."

Sophie's love of the JK Rowling creation led to Joe's own appreciation and so a light-hearted ultimatum for one person to give another. The couple are now married with children.

Diane Keaton and Al Pacino

After meeting on the set of The Godfather in 1971, Diane Keaton and Al Pacino dated for five years, but it unfortunately didn't work out. During their relationship, Diane says she was "mad for him" but she couldn't convince him to settle down.

Diane admits that when Al wouldn’t commit to marriage, she gave him an ultimatum - and it ended the relationship. "I worked hard on that one. I went about it in not a perfect way," Diane told People.

Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre

The actor Idris Elba's relationship with Sabrina Dhowre was on rocky ground when they first began dating. He says he had trouble controlling his emotions, which led him to issue an ultimatum to his then-girlfriend. Idris admits he always jumped to telling Sabrina she should leave if she didn't like the way he acted. 

"Sabrina and I, very early in our relationship I was very stressed so I had these massive anger tantrums that were like explosions. She was like, 'Who are you?' I was always the first to say, 'Hey, if you're not happy, leave. Move.' It was kind of like a male instinct," Idris said on their Audible podcast Coupledom.

Thankfully, Idris realised he was in the wrong and that the couple should work together to resolve their arguments instead of calling it quits. He says that after that challenging year, they're now stronger than ever. The couple married in 2019.

Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster

Penny Lancaster first began dating Rod Stewart in 1999 and he had just gotten out of a marriage and was playing the field. Penny says that she didn't want to put up with his games and told him she wanted to be his only girlfriend if they were to continue things. 

"So when I became a girlfriend of his I didn't want to be a girlfriend, I wanted to be the girlfriend or else it wasn’t good enough for me. I didn’t want to play the games so I remember right from the very beginning I said ‘If you mess it up - look, I understand if you want to go out with other girlfriends tell me and I’ll find someone else - but please don’t do that to me.' I made the rules pretty clear and if you’re happy to live under the terms I want to have a relationship in, then great," Penny recalled on Loose Women.