Liam Neeson Talks Natasha Richardson’s Death

They had an amazing marriage in an industry that usually destroys relationships, so when Natasha Richardson passed away, her husband Liam Neeson wasn’t sure how to cope with his grief.

The “Taken” actor said in Esquire magazine's March 2011 issue, "I think I survived by running away some. Running away to work. That's the weird thing about grief. You can't prepare for it. You think you're gonna cry and get it over with. You make those plans, but they never work."

He continued, "It hits you in the middle of the night – well, it hits me in the middle of the night. I'm out walking. I'm feeling quite content. And it's like suddenly, boom. It's like you've just done that in your chest."

Liam also described his experience on the day his wife died, almost two years ago. "I walked into the emergency – it's like 70, 80 people, broken arms, black eyes, all that – and for the first time in years, nobody recognizes me. Not the nurses. The patients. No one. And I've come all this way, and they won't let me see her. And I'm looking past them, starting to push – I'm like, 'F---, I know my wife's back there someplace."

"I pull out a cell phone, and a security guard comes up, starts saying, 'Sorry, sir, you can't use that in here,' and I'm about to ask him if he knew me, when he disappears to answer a phone call or something. So I went outside. It's freezing cold, and I thought: 'What am I gonna do? How am I going to get past the security?'

"And I see two nurses, ladies, having a cigarette. I walk up, and luckily one of them recognizes me. And I'll tell you, I was so f---ing grateful – for the first time in I don't know how long – to be recognized. And this one, she says, 'Go in that back door there.' She points me to it. 'Make a left. She's in a room there.' So I get there, just in time."