The weather conditions on the set of The Grey were so severe that Liam Neeson struggled to remember his lines and was continually fighting the onset of frostbite. According to The New York Post the actor has said that the harsh Canadian weather added a sense of desperation to his performance, which has been highly praised by reviewers: "In one scene, I remember someone saying, 'If we do another take, we run the risk of Liam getting the onset of frostbite.' There was such a desperation [in the performance] because there's a desperation in that moment, because he wanted to keep warm."

The Grey is based on a short story ('Ghost Walker') by Ian MACkenzie Jeffers, about a group of men who have to fight for survival in Alaska after their plane crashes and they are targeted by a pack of wolves. Neeson told reporters that the 'brain freeze' the actors suffered caused frustration for Joe Carnahan - the film's director - because he thought the actors simply hadn't learned their lines properly: "The function between the brain and the mouth to speak the words just wasn't working. We were all fumbling over lines.It was just hard to get that thought to make it work."

The film opened in the US and UK on Friday (January 27, 2012) and so far has received largely positive reviews, with many critics commenting on Neeson's strong performance. Liam Neeson is also scheduled to appear in The Dark Knight Rises later this year, alongside Christian Bale and TOM HARDY.