Liam Neeson Explains When He’ll Retire His ‘Particular Set of Skills’ in Action Movies: ‘I’m 72’ (Exclusive)

Liam Neeson’s résumé includes starring roles in some of the biggest films of the past few decades: He was the hero of Steven Spielberg’s Best Picture–winning drama Schindler’s List (earning an Oscar nomination himself), a Jedi Master in the Star Wars franchise, and a charming widower in the enduring holiday favorite Love Actually.

But with Taken — the 2009 revenge drama about a former government agent who must rescue his kidnapped daughter — Neeson found a second act as an action star, connecting with viewers more than ever before.

“It just seemed to have touched something in the psychic nerve of moviegoing audiences,” the father of two tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.

Just take his recent trip to a New York court, where the Northern Ireland native, who has dual U.S. citizenship, reported for jury duty. He wasn’t selected for a trial and sat reading a Patricia Cornwell mystery on his Kindle while waiting to be released by the clerk.

“He’s calling, I don’t know, 55, 60 of us. He gets to me, but all I’m hearing is, ‘I have a particular set of skills. Skills that would make me…’ And I thought, ‘Oh f— no,’ ” Neeson says with a smile, as he recalls hearing the recitation of his monologue from Taken.

“It was actually really sweet and flattering. As I was leaving, people started to applaud,” continues Neeson.

He’s now made more than a dozen movies in the genre, including his latest, Absolution, the tale of a low-level criminal and boxer afflicted with CTE who — you guessed it — exacts revenge on some very bad men.

Director Hans Petter Moland, who also directed Neeson in 2019’s Cold Pursuit, says the star brings a humanity to these types of roles. “When he’s immersed in the character he is, you see the hurt, you see the pain,” says Moland. “He becomes that man.”

While Moland says Neeson had no trouble with the role’s physicality, the actor himself is thinking ahead to a day when he won’t be able to convincingly throw a punch.

“I’m 72 — it has to stop at some stage,” says Neeson, who performs in his own fight scenes but leaves the more intricate stunt work to longtime collaborator Mark Vanselow. “You can’t fool audiences. I don’t want Mark to be fighting my fight scenes for me.”

He’s eyeing an exit sometime in 2025, but hasn’t firmly committed: “Maybe the end of next year. I think that’s it,” he says.

Neeson could certainly have a third act as a comedy star. He recently wrapped filming a reboot of the Leslie Nielsen police comedy The Naked Gun. He plays the hapless cop Frank Drebin Jr. in a new story, with Pamela Anderson costarring as a femme fatale.

“I’m madly in love with her. I can’t compliment her enough. She’s funny,” says Neeson.

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He’s less sure of his own comedy skills as the “silly” movie’s lead. “Whether I can carry it or not, I honestly don’t know,” he says. Anderson disagrees. “He’s being humble,” she says. “It was hard to keep a straight face in scenes together.”

Absolution is in theaters Nov. 1.

For more on Liam Neeson, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.