Despite Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, Liam Neeson has failed to secure his latest role: as a mall Santa Claus on US talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Over the weekend, a suited-up Neeson tried out for the festive gig, but brought too much gravitas to the role.
"I see you... when you are sleeping. I know... when you're awake," he said in his trademark Taken style.
Asked if he could be a "little more jolly", Neeson began take two with a smile but became increasingly intimidating as the audition continued.
"I think it's right," he told the crew. "Do you understand what Santa's saying here? He's making a list - naughty, nice. He's detailed. He's single-minded. He's an eye in the sky bringing swift judgement.
"And that reindeer that ran over grandma? I will look for him, I will find him, and I will kill him."
On the subject of Taken, Neeson told Colbert there was no chance of a fourth movie in the action franchise.
"There's only so many times your daughter can get taken," he laughed. "If we do another one, it'll be, 'Please, can you take my daughter?'"
Neeson, who will be among the guests on the Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 this Thursday, has two new movies in cinemas at Christmas, Silence and A Monster Calls - both opening on New Year's Day.
Directed by Martin Scorsese, Silence tells the story of 17th-century Jesuit missionaries tasked with bringing Christianity to Japan. A Monster Calls is based on the Patrick Ness bestseller of the same name with Neeson playing the monster that helps a young boy come to terms with his mother's mortality.
