Liam Neeson Admits He Wanted to Kill After Friend Was Raped

Liam Neeson has said he is ashamed to admit he had violent thoughts about killing a black person after learning that someone close to him had been raped.

In an interview published Monday, Neeson said that after being told the attacker was black, he "went up and down areas with a cosh (stick or truncheon)" hoping a black person "would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him."

"It took me a week, maybe a week and a half, to go through that," Neeson said.

Many social media users expressed shock at his admission, accusing Neeson of racism.

The Northern Ireland-born actor recounted the story in an interview with The Independent while promoting his new thriller "Cold Pursuit," about a father who seeks violent revenge for his son's death.

He said the incident happened some time ago.

Neeson, 66, called his reaction "horrible," saying it taught him a lesson about the "primal need" for revenge.

Promoting his new film, "Cold Pursuit," a tale of revenge, Neeson told the reporter he had found out about the rape after returning home from abroad. He did not specify who had been attacked, but said: "There's something primal -- God forbid you've ever had a member of your family hurt under criminal conditions."

"She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way," Neeson said of the victim's reaction. "I asked, did she know who it was? No. What color were they? She said it was a black person."

Neeson went on to add that he did "learn a lesson" from his reaction to the rape. He noted that he had grown up during the Troubles, a period of huge unrest in his native Northern Ireland, and that while he understood the primal drive for revenge, it ultimately leads to more bloodshed.

Neeson is now facing backlash for the comments, which some social media users are calling racially charged.

Neeson's reps did not immediately respond to Variety's request for comment.