Liam Neeson revealed that he wanted to kill a random black person nearly 40 years ago after a close friend had been raped by a black man

The Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson appears to have weathered the storm that followed his recent controversial comments, with his next film selling to countries around the globe.

Normal People has sold distribution rights for every territory in the world apart from Canada, where a deal is due to be confirmed shortly.

The film, which co-stars Lesley Manville, is expected to go on release worldwide this year. It will be brought to cinemas in Ireland and the UK through Universal Pictures International, while Bleecker Street has already acquired the US rights. The movie has also been picked up in the rest of Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and on airlines.

During an interview in February to promote his new action film Cold Pursuit, Neeson