It’s usually a disaster when movies migrate to the small screen. When a story is told through film, that’s often enough time to tell it, and there’s a sense of repetitiveness and redundancy in the movie’s resurrection. In the case of action movie Taken and its two sequels, which follow bad-ass main character Bryan Mills as he saves people for a living, it all seemed pretty cut-and-dry: someone goes missing or is kidnapped, and Mills comes along and rescues them.
This is where the TV series (premiering on Global at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Monday, Feb. 27) gets interesting. Instead of just making the show a missing-person-of-the-week, Taken goes back in time 30 years, before any of the horrible movie misfortune befalls Mills. (Though he’s dealing with the loss of his sister, starting in Episode 1.) Sure, he’s still the same maverick superman, but he hasn’t yet developed that boastful certainty that Mills only gains after undergoing decades of adversity. Taking over for movie lead Liam Neeson, Vikings star Clive Standen fits the bill and delivers the intensity necessary to make this kind of show work.
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With acting veteran Jennifer Beals by his side, there’s more of a team-like element to the show, and of course, the potential for romance on the case. Global News caught up with Standen, Beals and Taken executive producers Alex Cary and Matt Gross at the Television Critics Association winter session, where they revealed what to expect from the new action series.
This is no half-hearted adaptation
The passion put into Taken is evident when Standen tells a story about a torture scene. Initially, producers wanted him to be shirtless during the scene, but Standen insisted it wasn’t authentic enough, and if he were actually being tortured he would be stripped naked. So, naturally, Standen went fully method and got completely naked for the shoot. Now that’s dedication.
Standen also willingly put himself in the line of fire, so to speak, and suffered a few minor injuries while shooting.
WATCH BELOW: Clive Standen takes on the lead role in Taken
Beals is quick to say her co-star truly is a beast.
“He’s rising to the bar every week, every day,” she said. “Then along with the American accent. I mean, he’s just completely … he’s an animal, and it’s phenomenal to be able to work with somebody who is that vigorously dedicated.”
The ‘team’ aspect of the show adds something new
Unlike the movies, this TV show isn’t solely about Mills. He’s no lone wolf on his missions, instead supported by Beals and the rest of the team members, which is an essential addition to flesh out the plot and storyline.
It’s still the Bryan Mills you know and love
Looking for a bad-ass leading man? Standen is the perfect casting for Mills, given his extensive physical background on Vikings, and he fills the Mills character with aplomb. Physically, Standen is built like a brick wall, and he’s a former Muay Thai boxer, swordsman and expert in stage hand-to-hand combat. Sounds about right, doesn’t it?
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“He has little regard for his own safety, which enables him to put himself on the firing line and make sure that every single person he gets a chance to help is another chance to try to save his sister,” said Standen. “I like the analogy that Bryan is that guy who feels every flower he touches turns to a weed. He doesn’t make emotional connections very well and doesn’t trust himself. That enables him to be that guy with forward momentum who is always going forward and always trying to be selfless and serve. So when most people freeze up, clam up, run in the other direction, he’s going towards danger, and he can’t help himself.”
Aside from the main character, it isn’t much like the Taken movies at all
Don’t think you’re getting another procedural action TV show, say the producers. And the similarity to the movies begins and ends with the Mills character.
“The show is called Taken not because we’re going to kidnap someone every week,” said Gross. “His sister is taken from him, and he’s never going to get her back, and he’s going to chase her his entire life, and he’s never going to get her back. Something was taken from every character and all of us, and that’s why I think the audience is going to relate with that.”
“The inception was a genesis story and really see the formation of this character, Bryan Mills, and how he became who he is,” he continued. “Later on in his life, we know he’s a broken man, and we know he has a particular set of skills, and the whole concept was his journey on how he got there. So this is how a hero becomes a hero.”
“I’d say as well: his sister is not the only thing that’s taken from him in the first season,” hinted Standen with a sly look.
‘Taken’ premieres on Global on Monday, Feb. 27 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
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