One intriguing aspect of Taken is that Bryan Mills (Clive Standen), though he may seem like one-man army, is not a stereotypical action hero. During the Taken interviews at this year’s NBC/Universal TCAs, I asked Standen about how he emotionally connects to the role. Video is below!
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“There’s been points in this season with Bryan, I think it’s because TV works so quickly – it’s like eight days per episode. Some of these stories, I have an emotional connection with. It’s quite cathartic for me with things that have happened in my life I kind of feel like, in order to deal with grief, you have to let it out.
(I) feel a bit guilty sometimes of kind of accessing that emotional recall because you feel like you’re whoring out for a job. But the way I justify it is it’s actually quite cathartic. In order to keep thinking about that person you’ve lost or the thing that happened in your life . . . in order to keep thinking about them you have to let that pain in. That’s what I do sometimes with Bryan.
Bryan’s a character that allows you to let some emotion out. I fight with the powers that be all the time because there’s this weird formula for action heroes that (they) are not allowed to cry and I fight that every day. I was a dad at 22, married with three kids. I think that’s what makes a man.”
Video Version of Standen’s answer:
Taken, co-starring Adam Goldberg and Jennifer Beals, airs Friday evenings on NBC (9/8c).
