Liam Neeson on UNICEF Work, Goofy Comedy and Co-Star Chemistry in Naked Gun

Newsweek

4 days ago

In his five decades in Hollywood, Liam Neeson has seen and done it all—from Oscar-nominated dramas to hard-hitting action thrillers, with a touch of romantic comedy and a flirtation with parody along the way.
Now, at 73, and with more than 100 movies under his belt, the Northern Irish actor is taking perhaps his boldest turn yet: stepping into the world of slapstick, starring as Frank Drebin Jr. in a reboot of one of the funniest film franchises of all time—The Naked Gun.
Despite some "tiny little apprehensions" about a foray into the genre, Neeson said when The Naked Gun producer Seth MacFarlane approached him about the role four years ago, he was all in. "He called me and proposed this reboot that the studio was thinking of, of The Naked Gun, and would I be Frank Drebin Jr?" Neeson told Newsweek. "I said, 'Yeah, of course I'd be open to that.' I know Seth's wicked sense of humor, at least from Family Guy and stuff. So I thought, OK, this could be interesting.'"
Actor Liam Neeson poses on the red carpet before the screening of his movie "Taken 2" during the 38th Deauville American Film Festival on September 7, 2012 in Deauville, France.
Actor Liam Neeson poses on the red carpet before the screening of his movie "Taken 2" during the 38th Deauville American Film Festival on September 7, 2012 in Deauville, France.
Francois Durand/Getty
It's a genre pivot few might expect from Neeson—but in many ways, it's the culmination of a complex and richly layered career.
Neeson grew up in a working-class Catholic family in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, the third of four children. He had three sisters and was raised in a modest household, where his father worked as a caretaker at a school and his mother was a cook. From a young age, Neeson showed interest in acting, joining the local theater in Belfast before moving into film.
His breakout role came in 1993, playing the titular German industrialist in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List. The film's critical acclaim was immense, and Neeson's quietly shattering performance earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination. He went on to work with some of the best directors in the business, including Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan and Ridley Scott.
But Neeson's path has not been without pain. In 2009, he faced unimaginable tragedy when his wife, actress Natasha Richardson, died after a skiing accident in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. The couple had been married for 15 years and shared two sons. Her sudden death left Neeson devastated, and he has since focused on fatherhood, advocacy and his craft.
Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson arrive at the BFI 52 London Film Festival: 'The Other Man' Premiere at the Odeon West End on October 17, 2008 in London, England.
Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson arrive at the BFI 52 London Film Festival: 'The Other Man' Premiere at the Odeon West End on October 17, 2008 in London, England.
Chris Jackson/Getty
While Neeson would become an action icon in films like Taken—where he became the grizzled father with "a very particular set of skills"—he never allowed himself to be fully typecast. His role in Love Actually in 2003, as a widowed stepfather, showed his gentler, more romantic side, while early voice roles and appearances in animated features hinted at his willingness to play against type.
He even touched on meta-comedy in a now-legendary sketch for Life's Too Short in 2011, a series created by Warwick Davis, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The joke was his total lack of comedic timing. Now, with The Naked Gun, he's taking that same deadpan delivery into a full-length slapstick performance and entering into a cultural institution.
Neeson steps into the shoes of Leslie Nielsen, who played the main character in the first Naked Gun, released in 1988, and in two sequels. The original, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, was a genre-defining parody. A box-office smash and one of the top-grossing comedies of 1988, the film earned $78 million at the time (over $200 million in today's money) and its absurdist humor—delivered in a serious tone—became a blueprint for modern parody.
Actor Liam Neeson (2R) with family (L-R) son Daniel Neeson, son Micheal Neeson, an unidentified person, and niece Daisy Bevan arrive for the funeral of actress Natasha Richardson at St. Peter's Lithgow Episcopal Church on...
Actor Liam Neeson (2R) with family (L-R) son Daniel Neeson, son Micheal Neeson, an unidentified person, and niece Daisy Bevan arrive for the funeral of actress Natasha Richardson at St. Peter's Lithgow Episcopal Church on March 22, 2009 in Lithgow, New York. Richardson died at Lenox Hill Hospital on March 18 in New York City after suffering a ski injury at the Mont Tremblant resort in Montreal. More
Neilson Barnard/Getty
Lines like: "Nice beaver," and "Thanks, I just had it stuffed," are now legendary and often cited among the funniest in movie history.
Neeson and Nielsen's professional lives have similarities: They're both dramatic actors who found their comedic calling later in life. While Neeson acknowledged the comparison, he said he wanted to put his own spin on the role and chose not to rewatch Nielsen's movies. He trusted his own experience as an actor instead.
"I didn't want to emulate Leslie at all," Neeson told Newsweek. "The only note I gave to myself every day we were shooting was to be dead serious. Not try to be funny. That would not work, you know."
Critics have lauded Neeson for his turn as the straight man in this screwball comedy, where the gags come thick and fast as he and co-star Pamela Anderson try to catch a murderer. He shines particularly in his scenes with Anderson, and Neeson has said he "fell madly in love" with her work in the film. As Newsweek went to press, reports speculated the pair were datingsit.
Pamela Anderson plays Beth and Liam Neeson plays Frank in The Naked Gun from Paramount Pictures.
Pamela Anderson plays Beth and Liam Neeson plays Frank in The Naked Gun from Paramount Pictures.
Paramount Pictures
He told Newsweek: "She was playing a femme fatale, but she had her own persona around it, which is very sweet and tender, touching. I could sense we had a chemistry. I didn't want to analyze it, embellish it...I think we just liked each other, trusted Akiva Schaffer, the director, and I just trusted that Akiva would shoot it well. With Pamela, there were no airs and graces, ego—any of that stuff."
While Neeson may be best known most recently for his work on the Taken franchise, he said he has considered retiring from the action genre. He shot the first Taken 18 years ago, and feels the audience may tire of seeing him fight it out as he gets older.
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"Yeah, because I'm 73, and audiences are smart, you know," Neeson said. "I don't want my stunt double to be doing all my fight scenes and stuff. And it's obvious it's not me. That's insulting. I keep reasonably fit, I'm not in a gym three hours every day, you know. I might have one left."
Beyond his acting career, the cornerstone of Neeson's life's work and legacy is his humanitarian advocacy—particularly his long-standing work with UNICEF. A cause close to his heart, Neeson has volunteered with the organization for over 20 years, visiting Mozambique in 2005, and Jordan in 2017, where he met Syrian refugee children and visited schools and camps to raise awareness of their plight. He became a Goodwill Ambassador in 2011 and fronted several fundraising campaigns—particularly for children facing emergencies.
Neeson plans to visit South Sudan or Ethiopia in the fall to draw attention to the crises there. He said it's crucial to see the challenges in these regions firsthand. "It just gives me a chance to use whatever celebrity status I have, to shine a light, some sort of light, on the poverty, the HIV transmission from mothers to kids, you name it, starvation," he told Newsweek.
Liam Neeson with Newsweek's Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Cunningham
Liam Neeson with Newsweek's Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Cunningham
Bruce Bonilla for Newsweek
"I take it very seriously," he added. "I find it deeply humbling, especially meeting mothers who walked maybe three days, who've got HIV, to tell their story to me, to UNICEF. It's very, very, very important."
The federal government's recent cuts to USAID funding have had a profound impact on UNICEF's programs and services, as the U.S. has historically been its largest donor—a shift that doesn't sit well with Neeson. He said the cuts would affect UNICEF's ability to influence children's lives for the better and said the "short-sightedness of our government is just staggering.
"We have a government in power that just seems to want to s*** on them from a great height, which is morally disgusting," he said. "We're all concerned with USAID. It's deeply, deeply concerning."
It's that same passion and intensity—both on and off screen—that has endeared Neeson to moviegoers and could serve him well in this bold leap into comedy. If The Naked Gun reboot hits its mark, it might just launch the next chapter of an already storied career. Neeson, however, doubts there will be a sequel.
"I think it's a one-off, yeah," Neeson said. "And if it succeeds, good. I think the film's going to have a few giggles and a few laughs in it, and God, we all need that at the minute. I think it's probably a one-off. Not that the experience wasn't great, it was, it's terrific. Working with Pamela, Danny Huston, all these terrific guys. Anyway, I'm committed to Taken four to seven!" [laughs]
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On playing Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List
"It was a very special, unique film for lots of reasons...I remember, it was before the Academy Award votes had to be in, the day before. And I remember Steven [Spielberg] telling me and Ben Kingsley, 'You know, we're not sending out VHS copies. People have to see it in the cinema.' And then, lo and behold, it got 12, 13 nominations. And I said, 'Oh my God, people are going to see this.' I don't like to think of it as a stepping stone for me as an actor to gain a foothold in Hollywood. I just do not think that way at all.... But, did it open certain doors? I guess it did."
On playing Bryan Mills in Taken
"I met Luc [Besson, the writer] at a Shanghai film festival in China. My wife had a film there when I was out. I cornered him and said, 'Look, for what it's worth, look, I've read this script, Taken, you know. I'd actually love to do it. I like all the fight sequences. It's a very simple story, but there's something about it that's very effective.' Anyway, push came to shove, so I got offered it. But there was a part of me [that] thought it's straight to video, you know. I was quite surprised when it did perform so well."
On playing Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars
"It was very, very clever what [director George] Lucas did [on The Phantom Menace]. My immediate memory is pulling a lightsaber, which then was just a handle. Ewan McGregor and I both going [makes the lightsaber sound]... 'We'll add the sound effects in later, you don't have to do that.' 'Oh, OK, sorry.' Yeah, you know, I did that a few times."
On playing Daniel in Love Actually
"Well, it was over, it's over 20 years ago, I might tell you. And the thing about shooting it was, most of my stuff was with an actor called Thomas [Brodie] Sangster. He was my son in the film. So, when we were together, it was as if the film was all about us. We were the only two actors on set, you know. Then when you see it, you say, 'Oh, of course, this other act, this couple, this other couple, you know. It was a joy to do.... All the messages are all messages of love."