Liam Neeson has waded into the gun control debate, saying that America has “too many f*****g guns”.

During an interview with Dubai’s Gulf News, the star of Taken 3 was asked about the recent terrorist incident in Paris at the offices of satirical magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’. Firstly, he acknowledged the horrors of the attacks, saying: “First off, my thoughts and prayers and my heart are with the deceased, and certainly with all of France, yesterday. I’ve got a lot of dear friends in Paris”.

Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson at a fan event ahead of Taken 3

Then he got stuck into the gun ownership issue. "There's too many f*****g guns out there. Especially in America. I think the population is like, 320 million? There's over 300 million guns. Privately owned, in America. I think it's a f*****g disgrace. Every week now we're picking up a newspaper and seeing, 'Yet another few kids have been killed in schools.'"

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Now, this may strike you as a tad hypocritical when you consider that the three Taken films, for all of which Neeson has been the top-line name, feature more guns than a military invasion. But he argued that movies don’t glamorise the use and ownership of such weapons, retorting: “I grew up watching cowboy movies, loved doing that [gun gesture] with my fingers, 'Bang, bang, you're dead!' I didn't end up a killer. I think that's something the power of cinema can be.”

Taken 3 has opened at the top of box offices on both sides of the Atlantic, despite a chilly reception from critics. Neeson has been ambiguous about whether this will be the final instalment in the series, having previously stated “you never know” to the possibility of a fourth.

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