Why Liam Neeson has visited this tiny Aussie town, populated by 20 residents

A-lister Liam Neeson has made his way to Australia to film an upcoming Hollywood blockbuster, Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky.

The Irish-born actor has been spotted two-and-a-half hours east of Melbourne in the tiny town of Walhalla, which has been turned into a set.

Home to only 20 permanent residents, Walhalla is a stunning mountainside town, frozen in time.

Watch the video above.

Liam Neeson has put the town back on the map, drawing in hundreds of visitors. (Getty)
The Walhalla Lodge Hotel & Pub is yet to get a visit from Neeson himself, but an employee tells 9honey Celebrity they have already had some crew pop in for some food.

Despite the town having an average temperature of 23-degrees in summer, Neeson, 71, was seen in a plaid shirt, a quilted zip-up vest and jeans.

Shots showed him being sheltered from the scorching sun whilst on set, the Northern Irish native is almost certainly not used to such high temperatures.

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The town after being transformed. | Facebook, Walhalla (Facebook)
The award-winning actor was also seen having fake blood applied to his forehead for a scene that reportedly involved a tour bus.

Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky follows Mike McCann, played by Neeson, who is a trucker on icy roads, travelling to Nepal to spread the ashes of his brother on Mount Everest.

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Accompanying Neeson are Aussie stars Grace O’Sullivan, Geoff Morrell and Bernard Curry.

Walhalla, a heritage-listed town has been transformed to resemble a Nepalese marketplace, with a few of its locals keeping an eye out for the Hollywood hotshot.
The town’s announcement about the movie set. | Facebook, Bobo Bobo, Walhalla Australia. (Facebook)
Buildings that are normally beige have been painted in bright shades of green and orange, along with Nepalese props.

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Production has said that the town will return to its original state once filming finishes on Jan 24th, a letter sent to residents has given the town information on the production.

There are said to be 90 cast and crew in the town, filming over a couple weeks, with Servo Productions sending out the information.
Neeson, seated in the shade whilst on set. | Facebook Walhalla Australia. (Facebook)
“You will notice increased activity in the lead-up to and on filming days,” it began.

“During preparations, you will notice changes to Walhalla’s Star Hotel and other landmarks on Main Road. Most notably at the Walhalla Rotunda, the Fire Station Museum and car park.”
The transformation of one of the buildings | Facebook, Trent Aaron. (Facebook)
“During the filming period [January 16 to 24, set up from January 8 to 15, stopping from January 25 to 31] there will be stunts involving large vehicles, special effects and prop gun use,” the letter explained.

“Traffic Management will be in place to support crew and public vehicles, as well as onsite personnel to guide members of the public.”

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The letter continued: “We are requesting a temporary slower speed limit and use of traffic management on filming days to ensure safety for our crew and members of the public.

“Main Rd will remain open, however short delays of up to 10 minutes are to be expected at various times during the filming period. We will endeavour to minimise disruption to locals and visitors as much as possible.”