The soft side of Liam Neeson

SEOUL —  Not every day does a huge actor like Liam Neeson call anybody “weird,” I think. But I do get that singular honor during this exclusive Conversation with him at a function room of Grand Hyatt in this city. How? Read on.

Before I left Manila, the guys at Twentieth Century Fox Manila invited me to a private screening of Taken 2, the follow-up to Taken 1 which was a worldwide megahit (more than $250M gross). In the first one, Liam as Bryan Mills, a retired CIA operative, rushes to Paris to rescue his daughter Kim (played by Maggie Grace) kidnapped by a human-trafficking syndicate.

In Taken 2, opening nationwide on Thursday, Oct. 4 (released through Warner Bros.), directed by Olivier Megaton, the reverse happens — it’s Bryan and his ex-wife Lenore (played by Famkee Janssen) held hostage by the same syndicate whose head is avenging for the son killed by Bryan Mills in Taken 1. The high-octane action scenes were shot around Istanbul.

Liam arrived in this city the day before, hardly showing any sign of wear and tear even if he just came from Paris, Copenhagen, Berlin and Moscow to promote the movie.

Like when I interviewed him in 2002 in New York for K-9: The Widowmaker (with Harrison Ford), Liam has the same sad eyes, seldom smiling but engaging just the same, speaking in measured, low voice, very serious as he is in most of his movie roles.

I’m wearing a tie with a picture of Humphrey Bogart on it.

“Nice tie,” smiles Liam as we take seats opposite from each other. “Nice Humphrey Bogart tie.”

That sets the tone of our free-wheeling exchange. He’s 60, towering at 6’4.”

Shall I call you Mr. Neeson?

“Just call me Liam.”

Okay, Liam. Did you ever think that Taken 1 would be a huge hit?

“We were taken by surprise since it’s a wonderful, tight and compact European-accent film. Fox Studios took it and it was a success in Europe. Then Fox brought it to America and, thanks to its fantastic PR job, it also was a hit. It created a wonderful fan base. But yet, we were surprised by its success.”

I think it’s because you play your character in a very human way, so real, and everybody finds it easy to identify with him.

“I think so, too.”

What were you thinking when you were playing Bryan Mills?

(Sighs) “Well, I just…I’m a father and I just focus on my relationship with my child. Maggie Grace as Kim is such a beautiful girl and it’s easy to imagine her being my daughter. Any father would do anything to save his daughter in danger.”

Top: During the Taken 2 presscon at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. Above: Making Korean fans happy during the movie’s gala premiere. Left: With your Conversationalist during the interview at Hyatt’s function room.

Do you have a child as old as the character Maggie plays in the movie?

“I have two sons. I wouldn’t want to imagine either of them in the same situation.”

Have you ever found yourself not in exactly the same situation as Bryan Mills, but in something that made you react the way your character does?

“No, never! Hopefully not!”

How would you describe yourself as a parent? Are you over-protective like Bryan Mills?

“Not really. No, no! I give my sons lots of space and lots of freedom.”

Is any of them interested in following in your footsteps to showbiz?

“Neither of them is showing it at the moment. They’re into sports.”

Do you encourage them to pursue what they want to be and not impose on them what you want?

“No, no, no! They can do whatever they want to be. They’re still young. They haven’t made up their minds yet what they want to do.”

In Taken 2, the reverse happens. It’s your daughter and your ex-wife being kidnapped and held hostage. What were you thinking this time?

“I feel that Taken 2 has a good story line. Ahhh, it brings my ex-wife more into the story and my daughter, of course, into it. It gets us all even more involved as a family. And, of course, the action scenes are more heightened than in Taken 1.”

You’ve been all over the world promoting the movie. You learn from every country that you visit, I’m sure.

“Yes, definitely! I’m very pleased and fortunate to be in a profession that gives me a chance to travel a lot. But the downside is that you are too busy working to really experience the culture of every country that you visit.”

Didn’t you ever think of just taking it easy and enjoying life?

“You know what, I don’t enjoy life. I love making films. I love being with movie crews — I love movie crews! I love those guys and those girls.”

So what do you do between films?

“I’m an avid reader. At the moment, I’m reading a bunch of Norwegian thrillers. Fantastic!”

You come from a closely-knit family. The first time I interviewed you in New York, you mentioned that you were a devout Catholic and you prayed the Our Father and the Hail Mary every day. You are very spiritual. How does it help in your philosophy as a person and as an actor?

“I think it’s good to believe in something. It helps me get focused in life, you know…yeah, it’s important.”

Are you bringing up your sons the same way you were brought up, presumably by a very Catholic family?

Facing Asian journalists at the presscon. Above: Maggie Grace plays Neeson’s daughter Kim in Taken 1 and Taken 2.

“Pretty much.”

Do you treat them more as friends than as sons?

“They are my sons.”

You are supposed to cry in some scenes in Taken 1 and 2 but you did not. Did you deliberately hold back your tears?

“There’s a couple of emotional scenes but tears didn’t come as people might have expected. You can’t really force your tears to fall; they fall spontaneously.”

Have you ever cried over a movie?

“Oh, I’ve seen a lot of movies that made me cry. Some of them made me cry because they were so bad. I watched E.T. and it made me cry because it’s so good.”

Oh, that was years ago! How old were you then?

“I must have been in my late 20s or early 30s. I watched it a few more times and it always brings tears to my eyes. It has a beautiful love story.”

What else makes you cry?

(Thinks hard) “Come to think of it.” (After awhile) “No, nothing comes to my mind at the moment.”

Any scene in Taken 1 and Taken 2 that you find most touching?

“The scenes with my daughter are very touching. Grace and I as father and daughter have a lovely chemistry together. In fact, in Taken 2, the three of us together — Grace, Famke and me. Oh, by the way, we actually have two endings for Taken 2. I won’t tell you what didn’t come out and I’ll let the audience find out what made it to the screen.”

Come to think of it, if you ever found yourself in a Taken situation, what would you do?

“Just like what Bryan Mills does — rescue my daughter by all means but I won’t kill anybody.”

As a veteran actor, what would make you say yes to a role?

“The writing. Yes, it’s always the writing. No matter what the genre is, the foundation is always the script.”

In terms of emotional demand, how do Taken 1 and Taken 2 compare with your roles in, say, Schindler’s List and Shining Through? I think your Taken role is more emotional than any of them.

“You think so.”

I think so, yes.

“More emotional than Schindler’s List?”

(Deadpan) “Personally, you are weird.”

(Undaunted) What I’m getting at is that in the Taken movies, your role is much more personal, considering what you have lost. I could identify with you because I’ve lost a brother barely a month ago. (I was in a subtle way referring to his wife, actress Natasha Richardson, who died in a skiing accident a few years ago.)

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

How would you compare Schindler’s List with the Taken movies?

“I cannot compare them because they are two different genres. What I do in any scene is try to make it human and as real as possible. It was easier for me to do the emotional scenes with Maggie Grace because she has become like a daughter to me. I’ve known her for five years since we did Taken 1 together. Every time I see her, she seems to be my real daughter.”

Any real-life hero, living or dead, that you find interesting to portray?

“I tried playing one…in Michael Collins, one of the founding fathers of the modern United States. That was a challenging role because, you know, I’m Irish. But at the moment, there’s no hero that I can think of.”

What about Taken 3? How soon will it happen? I think I have an idea what’s gonna happen.

“Oh yes? What will happen? Tell me.”

I think Bryan Mills will be put in a situation where he will be made to choose who to save between his daughter and his wife — with the three characters being in a sinking luxury liner.

“That’s strange. I don’t think that will work. I think this is probably the end of the road for Taken.”

Thank you, Liam, for your time. And sorry for being “weird” about Schindler’s List.

“Thank you, too, and sorry again for your loss.”

(Wasn’t that touching? A superstar like Liam Neeson remembering, even if he didn’t have to, to condole with you not once but twice!?!)

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