Liam Neeson Unrecognizable After Drastic Weight Loss - What Happened?

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Liam Neeson was spotted in New York City on Monday with a considerable amount of weight loss. ET reports that the 63-year old "Taken" star, who most recently appeared in the film "Run All Night" that was released in March, is now sporting a more natural, elderly look with long, gray hair. The actor has not yet released a statement on his weight loss, but some are already speculating that this new look might be for an upcoming film role.

Neeson is set to appear in Martin Scorsese's film "Silence," an adaptaton of the Japanese novel of the same name, written by Shusaku Endo and published in 1966. The Independent reports that the film "follows the story of a 17-century Portuguese Jesuit priest; a missionary who is tasked with taking Christianity to Japan but who faces wicked religious persecution while there. One of its central themes explores a ‘silent’ God in the face of adversity."

The film, decribed by Scorsese as a "suspenseful film, with elements of a thriller" is written by Jay Cocks, who wrote "Gangs of New York." In 2013, the director revealed that it was a project that he had been wanting to work on for several years now. He told Total Film during the Cannes Film Festival, "The subject matter is very close to my heart. I’ve been working on it since I first read the book in 1989."

The film stars Andrew Garfield, who has also been spotted sporting a long beard, as shown in the first officially released photo for the film. It is not far from likely that Neeson is sporting this look for his role in the film as Father Cristóvão Ferreira.

Earlier this year, fans were disappointed to find out that Neeson won't be taking any more action roles. He told The Guardian: "I’m in a very, career-wise, great place."

“The success of certainly the Taken films, Hollywood seems to see me in a different light. I get sent quite a few action-oriented scripts, which is great. I’m not knocking it. It’s very flattering," Neeson said. "But there is a limit, of course.”

He added: "If I feel audiences saying, ‘Come on, he’s 62, enough is enough,’ I’m very sensitive to that and if I pick up that vibe it will all stop. And I’ll start playing dads or grandfathers. But I keep myself pretty fit and my knees are still great. And it’s fun."

Fans can look forward to the release of Silence, which is set for a 2016 release.