Liam Neeson practically invented a genre all by himself. In Run All Night, he does exactly what is expected of someone whose career has taken a new turn since Taken: playing guns and feeling.

When Neil Patrick Harris, the host of the 87th Academy Awards, announced the arrival of Liam Neeson as presenter, he echoed the latter’s “special qualities”. “He will find you and kill you!” he said.

Since Taken, released seven years ago, Liam Neeson’s employment in the cinema has changed a lot. At 62, the actor is now a star in action films whose subgenre was practically invented for him.

“Everyone knows that Hollywood produces films for audiences aged between 17 and 24,” he recalled during a press meeting held in New York on Monday.

Since the 1980s, a whole section of the public has been abandoned. Maybe that’s why films like Taken – and other action films like it – are successful. They attract more mature people to the theaters because there are more mature people on screen!”

A father on a mission

In Run All Night (A night to survive in French version), he plays Jimmy Conlon. This Brooklyn mafioso, hitman nicknamed “the gravedigger”, decides to rebuild his family morality the day he learns that his son Mike (Joel Kinnaman), whom he has not seen for years, could be targeted after the fiasco of a bad settling of scores.

Jimmy thus rediscovers his paternal instinct. He will be ready to make any sacrifices to save his son and his family.

“This is the kind of story that has made great myths,” says Liam Neeson. In all cultures around the world, the father and son relationship plays an essential role. Being Irish, my culture is nourished by ancient tales from the North, made of flesh and blood.

These stories are often dark, often violent. Swedish author Henning Mankell once said that the darker the stories, the more they reveal our humanity.

“All this comes from very far away in fact,” he continues. We only have to think of Greek theater. It was made up of stories in which mothers murder their children and fathers eat them!

In Run All Night, the character follows old-fashioned codes of honor, much like members of the underworld or the shoguns of ancient Japan do. There is a form of respect for the enemy.”

A third collaboration
For the third time, Liam Neeson finds himself in front of the camera of Spanish filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan). The two men had previously made two successful films together: Unknown and Non-Stop.

“We really like each other,” explains Liam Neeson. There are never crises, never discussions where the tone rises. We exchange our impressions and everything is done in a very simple way. It’s nice to work like this.”

The actor also claims not to have had to look very far for the motivations of his character. “You don’t even have to play father,” he points out. Once you see your child born, your life is changed forever.

I was just discussing it with a friend and he was telling me how he felt like he found his place in the universe the day he became a father. I felt exactly the same way. It’s like, all of a sudden, the planets aligned.”

“The hardest part is playing the drunk guy. It’s difficult to do it with finesse. There was a fabulous actor back home in Ireland, Cyril Cusack, who achieved this masterfully. I tried to copy it!”

Liam Neeson is preparing to head to Taiwan soon to join the set of Silence, Martin Scorsese’s next film. In this historical drama set in 17th century Japan, the actor plays a Jesuit father who tries to spread the Gospel.

“When you play a leading role in a film, you have to have energy, to be at your best. And I’m not just talking about fitness!”