See Skinny Liam Neeson in First Still From Martin Scorsese’s ‘Silence’

The first shot of Liam Neeson in Martin Scorsese’s Silence has popped up tonight, proving that Martin Scorsese is, in fact, following through with one of his fifty upcoming projects. To be fair, Silence was always set to be his next film, it’s just that whatever film would be after Silence seems to have changed depending on the day of the week.

Anyways, here is Liam Neeson, decidedly slimmer, in Silence:

In an interview with Variety, Neeson discussed working with Scorsese and trimming away about 20 pounds for the role. “[Scorsese] gives 200%,” he said. “All he requires is that you give 100%… He’s intimidating… He requires absolute silence on the set — if he hears one tiny sound, it shatters it for him.”

Here is the brief synopsis for the film:

In the seventeenth century, two Jesuit priests face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity.

There is no set release date for Silence, but Scorsese is angling for a Cannes premiere next year. Aside from Neeson, the film also stars Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver among others.