Liam Neeson speaks out on late wife Natasha Richardson's death, says it still doesn't seem "real"

Natasha Richardson's death may still come as a surprise to some but her untimely passing is still surreal for her widower Liam Neeson. During an interview with 60 Minutes' Anderson Cooper, Neeson spoke on Richardson and how he's been able to cope.

With the fifth anniversary of Richardson's death approaching next month, her passing is still unreal to Neeson. In fact, he says her death "was never real. It still kind of isn't."

"There's periods now in our New York residence when I hear the door opening, especially the first couple of years...Any time I hear that door opening, I still think I'm going to hear her," Neeson said.

Richardson's untimely death came about after she fell on the slopes at the Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec.

Neeson still battles with grief and a deep feeling of loss.

"It hits you. It's like a wave," he says. "You just get this profound feeling of instability. The Earth isn't stable anymore and then it passes and it becomes more infrequent, but I still get it sometimes."

During the interview, Neeson recalls arriving to see his wife in the hospital. She was already brain dead but Neeson said the pair had a plan in case something like this happened.

Neeson says they had decided to "pull the plug" if either of them "got into a vegetative state."

Aside from Neeson, Richardson is survived by two sons, Micheál and Daniel.

Liam Neeson's interview with Anderson Cooper airs on Sunday (Feb. 23).