Liam Neeson walked streets with weapon ‘hoping’ to kill ‘some black b******’ after learning of rape

Liam Neeson has revealed that he once walked around “hoping” to “kill” a black person after someone close to him was raped.

The 66-year-old actor said that he was now “ashamed” of his “horrible” behaviour.

Neeson shared the story in an interview with The Independent in response to a question about his new film Cold Pursuit, in which his character looks for revenge after his son is killed by a drug gang.

The star said that he was told about the rape after returning from a trip abroad.

“She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way,” he told The Independent. “But my immediate reaction was I asked, did she know who it was? No. What colour were they? She said it was a black person.

“I went up and down areas with a cosh, hoping I’d be… approached by somebody. I’m ashamed to say that, and I did it for maybe a week – hoping some [Neeson gestures air quotes with his fingers] ‘black b******’ would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know. So that I could kill him.”

The Taken actor told the publication that he required a week or a week and a half to process the events.

“It was horrible, horrible, when I think back, that I did that,” he said. “And I’ve never admitted that, and I’m saying it to a journalist. God forbid.

“It’s awful. But I did learn a lesson from it, when I eventually thought, ‘What the f*** are you doing,’ you know?

“I understand that need for revenge, but it just leads to more revenge, to more killing and more killing.”

Standard Online has contacted Neeson’s representatives for comment.