Liam Neeson has considered getting out of the action game, with his first comedy in over a decade being The Naked Gun reboot. However, we can’t forget about the Irish actor’s life-changing role in Taken, which led to a string of leading roles in many other action movies. While it’s shocking enough that Neeson said he was “embarrassed” by the action flick, I’m more focused on the funny favor he’s done for his sons’ friends who are fans of the Taken franchise.
Not only did Liam Neeson kick serious ass in the Taken movies, but his portrayal as one of the best action movie dads also has to come from the infamous phone message scene that Bryan Mills sent to his daughter’s kidnapper. The Phantom Menace actor admitted to The NY Times that he was “a tiny bit embarrassed” by Taken, but here’s what he said about the funny favor he did for his sons’ friends:
Don’t get me wrong, I did love the script. But I can’t tell you how many voicemails [of the ‘Taken’ speech] I’ve recorded for my sons’ friends.
Hey, that’s the price you pay for successfully pulling off such a convincingly threatening voice, right? Liam Neeson’s sons must feel pretty lucky to have a cool dad who can pull fun favors like that for his fans. Sure, there have been many action movie characters who threaten their foes to their faces, but the Bryan Mills didn’t even have to look his daughter’s kidnapper in the eye to send a message that his daughter would be rescued.
It’s true that Neeson had no idea Taken would literally take off the way it did. Originally describing the action-thriller series as “corny,” the Northern Ireland native thought Taken was going to go straight-to-video. But with the franchise cementing his career as an action star, it’s proof that the projects you least expect can have a positive impact on your career.
The Oscar nominee’s sons’ friends wouldn’t be the only ones who loved Taken’s infamous phone speech. One father used Liam Neeson’s speech to scare his lazy kids into doing their chores. The Chronicles of Narnia actor also made a hysterical prank phone call as Bryan Mills to his Taken on-screen daughter’s ex-boyfriend. If you got a phone call like that from the Taken character, you know you’d want to run for the hills.
Not to mention, talk shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Graham Norton Show have requested the talented actor to do the film’s iconic phone speech for a live audience. I love it when one key scene in a movie can resonate so well with an audience that it becomes celebrated long after its release; or in this case, get hit with many voicemail message requests.
Liam Neeson is clearly a great dad to his kids, just like his Taken character, if he’s willing to leave voicemails to his sons’ friends as Bryan Mills. A movie character may not want to be on the receiving end of an “I will find you…” message, but fans clearly would love to be “threatened” by the award-winning actor. You can re-watch Neeson’s signature phone scene in Taken by streaming it with a Disney+ subscription.