It's the kind of story that you can't anticipate. On his way to turning 60 Liam Neeson has enjoyed a career renaissance that has seen him become one of the top leading men in the world.

Improbably, he's leading in the action film genre. Now the Belfast Telegraph reports that Neeson is in talks to star in hard hitting crime thriller The All Nighter.

If he takes the role Neeson will play an ageing hitman who is forced to take on his former boss to protect his wife and son.

The film is reportedly set over the course of a single night, and Neeson will play the hero on the run from both the mob and the authorities with his estranged son.

Next up though Neeson will appear in Paul Haggis' drama The Third Person, then in Non-Stop, an action thriller set on an aeroplane, and animated film Lego: The Piece Of Resistance.