Liam Neeson to Greet Moviegoers for His New Film in New York City amid Theater Re-Openings

Nicholas Hunt/Getty Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson is welcoming fans back to the movies.

Theaters in New York City are set to reopen this weekend after being shuttered for nearly a year as a result of the COVID-19 crisis — and Neeson is celebrating by showing up to personally greet fans in honor of his newest action flick, The Marksman.

"It will be nice to welcome people," the actor, 68, told The Hollywood Reporter this week. "I think going to the cinema is a bit of a sacred experience. I've felt that way since I was a kid."

Neeson (who has received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine) added of his Friday appearance, "This is one for the diary."

Open Road/Briarcliff (The Marksman's U.S. distributor) CEO Tom Ortenberg also told the outlet, "The reopening of New York is a strong symbolic gesture to the theater-going audience that it is okay to put your toe in the water."

According to THR, AMC Theatres is re-opening all 13 of its locations in the Big Apple on Friday, as are the Angelica and IFC Center. Regal Cinemas, meanwhile, is looking to open its doors in the city again next month.

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Courtesy of Open Road Films / Briarcliff Entertainment Liam Neeson in The Marksman

Ryan Sweeney / Open Road Films / Briarcliff Entertainment Liam Neeson in The Marksman

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As some movie theaters slowly begin to reopen with social-distancing and other safety guidelines in place, many — as well as a variety of other centers dedicated to the arts — continue to struggle amid the pandemic.

In July, Neeson commented on a roughly $45 million emergency government package received by his native country, Northern Ireland, intended to help keep theaters, arts and music venues, museums and more afloat.

"I cannot stress enough how essential that money is — every penny — in securing the well-being of our artistic community and sustaining the lives of nearly 8,000 people in every branch of the arts in Northern Ireland," he told the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, according to the BBC.

"It is vital; it's a lifeline," Neeson added. "It is vital for our economy; it is vital for our young people who are pursuing a career in our creative industries."

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Liam’s latest action film The Marksman hits select theaters January 15th

Neeson has been acting since the mid-1970s and has performed in a number of critically acclaimed roles, many in action films. In 2008, he started down an unexpected path to become a middle-aged action hero when he starred in Taken as a former government operative who must rescue his daughter after she's kidnapped in Paris.

The actor's latest film, The Marksman, is in select theaters on Friday. In the film, he plays a former-Marine-turned-rancher who must leave his life of solitude to protect an 11-year-old boy from drug-cartel assassins.

In a January interview with Entertainment Tonight, Neeson said that, after this year, he plans to stop filming action flicks.

"I'm 68 and a half — 69 this year," he told ET. "There's a couple more I'm going to do this year — hopefully, COVID allowing us — there's a couple in the pipeline and, then I think that will probably be it. Well, unless I'm on a Zimmer frame or something."

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