Liam Neeson struggled with underwater scenes in new thriller Unknown - because he's a poor swimmer.

The Irish star tells WENN he's never been comfortable in or around water and he was dreading filming a stunt scene in his new movie, in which his character has to escape from the back of a sinking taxi.

He says, "It was very, very scary. I worked with a stuntman in a tank and a swimming pool to get used to it. I'm not a very strong swimmer. I came to water late. I learned to swim at the age of 20. There were lots of days where we would just meet in the swimming pool and I'd put my head six inches under - and that was enough."

"When we shot the scene, it was half a cab going under the water. (Director) Jaume (Collet-Serra) wanted it to gradually sink into the heated tank and I'm sitting in the back. I felt confident enough, but once the cab started filling with water I just panicked because I wasn't in control. It was terrifying." (KL/RXM&WN/MT)

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