Opening in theaters on October 30th is the new action thriller ‘The Mongoose‘, which was directed by Mark Vanselow (‘Absolution‘), and stars Liam Neeson (‘Taken‘), Marisa Tomei (‘Spider-Man: Homecoming‘), Ving Rhames (‘Pulp Fiction‘), and Michael Chiklis (‘The Shield‘).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Liam Neeson, Michael Chiklis and director Mark Vanselow about their work on ‘The Mongoose’, Neeson’s first reaction to the screenplay, being directed by longtime collaborator Mark Vanselow, how his experience as a stunt coordinator prepared him to direct this movie, the challenges of Chiklis’ role, and executing the driving sequences.
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Moviefone: To begin with, Liam, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and the challenges of executing the driving sequences?
Liam Neeson: Well, I thought it was a good screenplay. Yes, it has action sequences and stuff, but a really strong heart to it, you know? Which, for me, as an actor, it’s always very important because I want to believe the action comes from somebody’s soul or heart. They’re executing an action, be it a fight, a car sequence, a gun sequence that comes from somewhere in a person or in the character, where he needs to do this to preserve his life, or to preserve another life. The driving stuff, I was nervous about it because I’m not a car person. I’ve never been into cars and this machine was an animal with a powerful motor that surprised me with the speeds that it could get up to.
MF: Mark, can you talk about how the experience you have as a stunt coordinator uniquely prepared you to direct this movie, particularly the driving scenes?
Mark Vanselow: I think what we talk about a lot in the stunt community is story driven action. So how does that drive the story forward? How is it moving the characters forward? That type of thing, and then, is it needed? Can we pair the action back because we don’t need as much to move the story forward? So, I think that really helped a lot with this project, particularly.
MF: Michael, how do you think Mark’s past experience informed his work on this movie?
Michael Chiklis: Well, it certainly informed him. Listen, I think that this is a stunt heavy movie, obviously, with all the chase scenes and everything. So that’s right in his wheelhouse. But I didn’t work with him in that regard. I worked with him in studio as an actor, and I felt like, “Hey, this guy’s obviously spent the last 30 years working with Liam on sets and been privy to great directors. Instead of just sitting in the background, he’s been listening.” So, props to him, that he’s learned his lessons well. I had a great time with him, and again, he seems like a guy who was paying attention.
MF: Liam, you’ve worked with Mark many times as a stunt coordinator, what was it like being directed by him on set?
LN: Well, overall, I wasn’t surprised at the ease that Mark conveyed to me and the other actors, but like, this could have been his 25th film. He had a wonderful sense of calm, confidence, and we had worked with the crew, particularly the camera crew, a couple of times before, and they very much respected Mark. That meant a lot to me too. We were in very good hands, considering this was his first film.
MF: Mark, what was your experience like directing Liam in this movie after years of working with him on other projects as a stunt coordinator?
MV: Just an absolute pleasure. You know, his confidence in me was able to make the other actors relaxed and trust me because he’d worked with me in the past. Tom Stern, the DP, and I would joke, “All we need to do is point the camera in Liam’s direction and we’re good.” So, that’s always helpful.
MF: Michael, most of your scenes in the film are separate from the rest of the main cast. Did it feel like you were working on a different movie, and as an actor, what are the challenges of playing a supporting role like this?
MC: It’s a great question and it’s obvious. I am completely in a box in this movie. It was the frustration of the movie for me. The challenge of the movie for me was that 95% of what I do in the movie is to a piece of tape off camera. So, talk about having to just give yourself into an imaginary set of circumstances and just go with it. This speaks to who Liam is, as a person, and as a professional, all the scenes where we actually speak directly to each other, he came into the studio and did his off camera. Which was really helpful, and lovely of him, and he didn’t need to do that, and I didn’t ask. He just said, “No, I want to be here for him.” It also informs it to hear his voice and feel his presence. It made a big difference for me. The rest of it was very challenging because, like you so astutely observed, I am in a one room for the entire movie. It was also frustrating in that I love cars, and I would have loved to have gotten into one of those cars and went after him, you know? But, such is life, and I still really enjoyed myself and had a great time working on this picture. A bunch of my friends were involved. Marissa Tome and I went to college together back in the day for a time, and I’ve always wanted to work with Liam. Also, I’m a kid of the ’70s. So I liked pictures like ‘Bullitt‘ and ‘Vanishing Point‘ and ‘Smokey and the Bandit‘, and it’s sort of an amalgam of those pictures. So, for all those reasons, and more, I went down to Melbourne and shot it.
MF: Finally, Michael, you are no stranger to playing a police officer after your work on ‘The Commish‘ and ‘The Shield’. Can you talk about what type of police officer Pope is and why he is obsessed with bringing down Fang?
MC: Well, some people just shouldn’t have a badge and a gun. Right? Pope is one of them. This is a bad guy. This is an authoritarian who thinks he’s right about everything, and he has a very myopic view of the world. He has target fixation when he focuses on someone and thinks that they’re the bad guy. He’s hell bent on destruction. That’s who we’re dealing with. It’s not shades of gray, like, Vic Mackey on ‘The Shield’, where there’s ambivalence and ambiguity about the character. This guy, he’s a villain. He’s a bad guy, and he’s meant to be the antagonist. So when you’re dealing with sort of broad strokes, tropes, and cliches in ways, the way to overcome that is understanding that there are people like this and just completely giving into that and playing in full on. Just believing and going with it. So, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
What is the plot of ‘The Mongoose’?
A war hero (Liam Neeson) accused of a crime he did not commit, and with nothing to lose, leads police on an epic televised cross-country car chase, helped by members of his former Special Forces Army battalion; as a fascinated public cheers him on.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Mongoose’?
- Liam Neeson as Ryan “Fang” Flanagan
- Marisa Tomei as Tara
- Ving Rhames as Tanker
- Michael Chiklis as Pope
List of Liam Neeson Movies and TV Shows:
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