Liam Neeson is modern day John Wayne

Hollywood producer Alex Heineman has compared actor Liam Neeson to late cinema icon John Wayne.

“Liam is a modern day John Wayne in some ways,” Heineman said in a statement. 

“There are not many actors that can do things with a look. But Liam can do things with one look; he’s great at conveying emotions with very little,” added Heineman, who along with Andrew Rona has backed Neeson’s “The Commuter”, helmed by Jaume Collet-Serra.

According to variety.com, Wayne enjoyed probably the longest and most successful career of any actor in film history. He had appeared in 120 features and one series “The Mesquiteers” and also directed two. A starring role in director John Ford’s “Stagecoach” (1939) lifted him overnight to enormous fame. He won an Oscar for “True Grit”.

Agreeing with Heineman, Rona also said: “I love working with Liam. He’s really easy-going and a true professional and he really commits to the film. There are very few actors today that can really carry a movie like this but Liam’s got that unique likability factor.”

“The Commuter”, also starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson and Sam Neill, revolves around a man’s quest to prevent disaster on a packed commuter train. PVR Pictures is releasing the film in India on Friday.

Talking about reuniting with Neeson, Collet-Serra said: “Liam can do no wrong. He’s an amazing actor. On every movie I’ve done with him I’m like a kid on Christmas morning on the first day of shooting, waiting to see what character he’s going to show me.”