Liam Neeson initially thought his iconic phone call scene in ‘Taken’ was ‘corny’ and feared the film would be a flop

Liam Neeson at a premiere of “96 Hours – Taken 3” in Berlin in 2014.    Getty Images

Liam Neeson thought his famous phone-call scene in “Taken” was “corny” at first.
It involved his character threatening a human trafficker with his “particular set of skills.”

Liam Neeson was entirely convinced that the most iconic scene from “Taken” was going to come across as cringey.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the actor, 70, reflected on several memorable moments from his career, including when he decided to say yes to starring in “Taken” in 2008.

Neeson played an ex-Secret Service agent who ends up having to track down his teenage daughter after she gets kidnapped by a gang of human traffickers while visiting Paris, France.

“Taken” went on to be a box office hit, grossing almost $230 million worldwide, and sparked two sequels. However, Neeson had doubts when he first read the script.

“I was very surprised by ‘Taken’,” Neeson said. “I thought it was going to be a straight-to-video film. It was such a simple story.”

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Liam Neeson at the Seoul premiere of “Taken 2”      Chung Sung-Jun/ Getty Images

One of the biggest scenes in the film sees Neeson threaten one of the human traffickers on the phone, telling them: “I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.”

Looking back, Neeson said he “certainly did sound scary,” but felt the entire speech was “corny.”

“I thought it was corny. It was a cornball. I really did feel that,” he said. “It’s nice to be proven wrong.”

Earlier this week, Neeson revealed he went so far as to ask for the entire scene to be cut during the shoot.

During a guest appearance on the “Today” show, the actor told hosts Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones, and Dylan Dreyer he was adamant it wouldn’t go down well with audiences.

“I said this is the hokiest, I feel like I’ve seen this a thousand times in films,” Neeson said, recalling what he told director Pierre Morel on the set.