‘Taken’: The billion-dollar franchise Liam Neeson thought was going “straight to video”
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(Credits: Far Out / TCM)
Before Liam Neeson used his special set of skills to systematically hunt down his daughter’s kidnappers in 2008’s Taken, he wasn’t known as an action star. Yes, the Northern Irishman had played Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins and Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, but these were exceptions to the rule. They also weren’t quite classical “action movies” in the same way Taken was.
In truth, no one was more surprised than Neeson himself when Taken made $226million worldwide and changed his career almost overnight. He didn’t even think the producers would want him to star in the picture, admitting in 2023 to IndieWire that he approached them with apprehension and said, “I’m sure I’m not on even your long list of people, but would you consider me?”
Suddenly, though, the 55-year-old was a bonafide action star. He made two Taken sequels – which made $376m and $326m, respectively – and played the iconic John ‘Hannibal’ Smith in a big-screen version of The A-Team. Following this, he settled into a run of action thrillers, including the likes of The Grey, Non-Stop, Run All Night, and Cold Pursuit, which still shows no sign of slowing down.
It was an incredible turn of events for an actor who was previously acclaimed for his Oscar-nominated leading role in Schindler’s List, as well as prestige dramas like Michael Collins and Kinsey. It was also stunning when you consider that Neeson never even thought Taken would see the inside of a cinema. Amusingly, he was sure it would go straight to DVD.
Neeson confessed, “I remember thinking, ‘It’s going to go straight to video, it doesn’t matter, it’s just such a simple little story.’” If anything, the main selling points for the actor were the chance to work with co-writer Luc Besson – best known for directing Léon: The Professional and The Fifth Element – and the fact the movie was shot in the most romantic city in the world. He chuckled, “It’s three months in Paris. How bad can that be?”
Once the movie was in the can, Neeson didn’t think too much about it – but then a series of unlikely events made him re-think its prospects. He revealed: “The film came out and did well in France first. Then it went to South Korea. Then I remember getting a couple calls from my nephews in Ireland.” To his bemusement, Neeson’s nephews told him they’d downloaded Taken and watched it, even though it hadn’t been released in Ireland yet. Illegality aside, this told Neeson there was an appetite for the film, which he hadn’t necessarily banked on.
“Then Fox took it in 2009,” marvelled Neeson, “And they just did a really cool trailer, started showing it at sporting events and stuff. I think it opened at number two or number three, and it sort of hovered there and went up and down a bit, then up a bit. It was great.”
In the end, the straight-to-DVD quickie that Neeson banged out because he fancied beating stunt guys up in Paris for a few months wound up spawning a billion-dollar franchise and completely changing the trajectory of his career. As the grateful star smiled, though, “It’s nice to be proven wrong.”
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