14 DAY TRIAL // Before “Taken” came out in 2008, no one would have imagined Liam Neeson as the next big thing in action movies, both because of his age and because he simply didn’t seem the kind to carry an action flick. Neeson himself was the last to think he’d ever be able to reinvent himself to become an action star, he admits in the April 2014 issue of GQ magazine.
The Irish actor, who has an impressive experience in both theater and film, usually makes for amazing interviews, and his latest is no exception. In it, he talks about the new boost in his career, that came with “Taken,” being a widower and a father to teenage boys, drugs and alcohol, and dating.
Above all, he tries to convey just how grateful he was for the chance he was offered with the aforementioned film, even though he admits he didn’t really have that much faith in its success.
“I wanted to do more physical stuff. I really thought it would be kind of a little side road from my so-called career. Really thought it would go straight to video. But it just got great word of mouth. I was stunned,” Neeson says.
The entire world was stunned at how well “Taken” was received, so he’s in great company. The film, telling the story of a retired special agent whose daughter is kidnapped in Paris and who goes on a one-man mission to find her and bring her back home, is now considered a classic.
It didn’t just revive and reinvent Neeson’s career, it made him a viral star and made him as famous and fake-dangerous (and beloved) as Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van Damme. The difference is that, in Liam’s case, this came at a stage in his life when he was just getting accustomed to the idea he would only be playing grouchy grandpas from then on.
“Taken” also ushered in a new breed of on-screen hero, as countless releases after it can confirm: the aging, lone, but just as swift and deadly action man. The culmination of this new cinema trend came with the first “Expendables” movie, written and directed by Sylvester Stallone, which saw him bring back together for the first time the biggest action stars of the ‘90s.
Speaking of action stars and action movies, Liam tells GQ that he’d love it if he could make a movie with Denzel Washington. People in Hollywood with money to finance a film, if you’re reading this, the fans would very much appreciate it if you could make it happen.
“I’d love to work with Denzel. I have such admiration for him as an actor. I see an incredible nuance of someone who’s so comfortable in front of a camera. There’s an intelligence there; there’s an absolute truth. I’ve never seen that man portray anything less than the truth. It’s pure,” Neeson says.
Until such a dream collaboration happens, fans can see Liam Neeson in “Non-Stop,” a French-American action movie in which he plays the unwilling but ever-so-competent hero.