FILMING OF THE GUARDS by KEN BRUEN

Producer Ralph Christians, an unnamed actress, an unnamed actress and Ken Bruen.

Filming of THE GUARDS ended Friday.


Magma Films’ latest project, an adaptation of Ken Bruen’s ‘The Guards’, that began shooting October 27th, in Co. Galway, ends today.


The film is directed by Stuart Orme.  Stuart has previously worked on INSPECTOR MORSE AND MERLIN and spent much of the 80s making music videos for the likes of Whitney Houston and Phil Collins. 


Iain Glen (Song for a Raggy Boy, Tara Road) leads the cast as Jack Taylor. Jack Taylor was to be played by Dominic West, but scheduling conflicts prevented that from happening. Iain Glen stepped into the role of the troubled former cop. Glen has been seen on U.K. television in THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, CITY OF VICE and WIVES & DAUGHTERS. He also played Dr. Isaacs in the RESIDENT EVIL films and will soon be seen in the HBO adaptation of George Martin's GAME OF THRONES.


Ralph Brown (The Boat that Rocked) stars as his sidekick Sutton. The female leads are played by Irish actresses Tara Breathnach (The Tudors) and Nora-Jane Noone (Savage).



Produced by Ralph Christians (Niko and the way to the Stars) and Clodagh Freeman (Summer of the Flying Saucer), the script was adapted from Bruen’s novel by Anne McCabe, Tom Collins and Ralph Christians. Other crew involved includes Director of Photography John Conroy (The Bourne Ultimatum) and Production Designer Derek Wallace (Triage).

‘The Guards’ tells the tale of Jack Taylor, a disgraced ex-cop, cast out of the force after physically assaulting a member of parliament. Now operating as a private eye, Jack takes his drinking as seriously as his job. When asked to find a missing child, his investigation uncovers the seedy underbelly of Galway City. Then, when an old friend of Jack’s dies under mysterious circumstances, everything Jack believes in begins to unravel, making him question even those closest to him.

This 90 minute TV movie is the first episode in a series of Jack Taylor stories (of which Ken Bruen has published seven), co-financed by German broadcaster RTL, Richard Price TV Associates, UK, The Media Fund and Magma Films, Ireland.

Producer Clodagh Freeman tells IFTN: “Magma Films are delighted that the first day of principal photography is finally underway on the adaptation of Ken Bruen’s first novel in the Jack Taylor series ‘The Guards’. We are confident that this wonderful franchise will fill the gap in the market for Irish crime series internationally.”


THE GUARDS is just the latest of a number of film/television projects stemming from Ken's work. The films from LONDON BLVD and BLITZ have completed shooting and ONCE WERE COPS AND TOWER have been optioned.