Liam Neeson chats Lincoln

You might think that waiting for Indiana Jones IV to start shooting is frustrating, but just try and put yourself in Liam Neeson’s shoes. He’s been waiting for Steven Spielberg to start work on his Abraham Lincoln biopic for ages now, and has seen the film tied to the destiny of Indy for at least a year.

With the Spielbeard confirming that he’s actually going to be shooting Indy IV this year, it means that Neeson might finally be strapping on the chin beard and big hat sooner rather than later. And he’s certainly been preparing for it. Talking to Comingsoon.net, Neeson revealed that he’s been doing his research like a good student. “We know a lot about him, it's not hearsay,” the actor admits. “There are over two thousand books written on this man. Two thousand! Some of them are great books. I've read about 22 maybe.”

And he’s not just been hitting the books – he’s been visiting Lincoln’s haunts and memorials: “I've been to Washington, I've held his wallet, I've said a prayer on the Bible he was inaugurated on. I read his personal letters and stood on the stage at Ford's Theatre.” But even his star power couldn’t get him access to the fateful balcony of the theatre, where Lincoln breathed his last after an assassin’s bullet. “It's sealed off. But I love the fact that he loved the theatre. There's not too many presidents you see going to see plays every so often. Lincoln did, all the time! He supported live theatre, which is terrific.”

With any luck, Neeson might be stepping into Lincoln’s shoes later in the year.

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