Actor Liam Neeson has reflected on the number of people he’s killed in his beloved action films. Since g up for the role of retired CIA operative Schindler’s List – went on to action movie stardom.
Neeson certainly couldn’t have been expecting Taken to find the success that it did, resulting in a wildly popular, yet wholly implausible franchise. Nonetheless, the 69-year-old took to the genre with genuine skill, the likes of which led to more action films. Many of these films have relied on a similar formula, in which Neeson goes on a one-man mission to eradicate villains and their assorted cadres of henchmen. It’s been fascinating to watch, even for those who aren’t all that interested in the action genre. There’s something about Neeson’s assured confidence while taking on any number of foes that's difficult to look away from.
But after over a decade of big-screen slaughter, Neeson has taken the time to reflect on the surprising number of villains he’s killed. During an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Neeson – whose latest action romp, Memory, hits theaters April 29 – was asked whether or not he has any idea how many people he’s killed in his films over the years. The question elicited some laughter on Neeson’s part, as he relayed an anecdote about his early days making the first Taken film:
[Laughs] I had a driver when I was doing Taken, the first Taken movie 15 years ago I think it was, and we were shooting in LA for the first week, and at the end of the first week, my driver as he dropped me off at the hotel, he said, "Mr. Neeson, can I ask you a question?" I said, "Yeah, sure." He says, "I've started to read the script of Taken, I've got to page 40, I think he said. It says you've taken the lives of 26 people." [laughs] I didn't know how to answer that. I felt quite embarrassed. They said in such a way as if, "Are you sure you've read this script? Because you do nasty things to people."
It's perhaps a strange thing to calculate how many fictional people an actor kills throughout the course of a film, but Neeson’s characters do it so casually that it merits a certain degree of scrutiny. Surely, there’s a lengthy list of action heroes who have killed just as many if not more villains than Neeson has in their films, but somehow, it’s more fun to focus on his onscreen achievements. The plot of the Memory involves Neeson once again taking on an entire criminal organization when his assassin-for-hire character is targeted for refusing to complete an assassination. There’s sure to be a significant pile of bad guy bodies once the credits roll, giving Neeson fans the usual incentive to make the trip to the cinemas.
Arguably the most important thing about Liam Neeson’s career as an action movie hero is that he’s never taken it too seriously. Unlike some action stars over the years, Neeson gives no indication that he actually believes he could pull off some of the things in his films. There appears to be zero bravado toward his work, even when he’s taking on an entire cartel of machine gun wielding tyrants. That’s great stuff as far as fans are concerned, and despite his age, there’s no shortage of those who want the beloved action icon to keep going.
