The special bond that connects Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson: Single parents are united by their love and struggles with parenthood - as they continue to spark romance rumours

Daily Mail​

12 hours ago

Over the past year, Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson have sparked dating rumours while working on their new movie The Naked Gun together.
Fans are still not sure of the status of their relationship after he said he 'loved' her, and with the film scheduled for release on August 1, is their off-screen chemistry all part of an ongoing publicity campaign - or have they really found love?
But the pair kept fans guessing on Tuesday night as they couldn't keep their hands off each other during the red carpet premiere of the film in London.
Pamela and Liam fuelled speculation further as they put on a passionate display, cosying up on the red carpet.
The pair appeared in good spirits as the actress planted a sweet kiss on Liam's cheek while they posed for the cameras.
However, whether their chemistry is real or not, one thing Pamela and Liam will have connected over is being single parents, and the bond they both have with their sons.
Pamela, 58, shares two sons with ex-husband Tommy Lee, Brandon Thomas, 28, and Dylan Jagger, 27.
While Liam, 73, was left to raise his and Natasha Richardson's two young sons Micheál and Daniel - who were aged just 13 and 12 when their mother suddenly died in 2009.
Liam has a close bond with his boys, and the trio are often spotted spending quality time together at hockey games.
Liam and Micheàl have even worked together, as they previously played a grieving father and son in film Made in Italy.
Meanwhile, Pamela often speaks about her relationship with her sons Brandon and Dylan.
Dylan is a successful model and aspiring musician, while Brandon has acted in a slew of movies and TV shows and was even featured in the reality series The Hills: New Beginnings.
The actress admitted that she had to 'beg her sons for forgiveness' after being 'sexualised' during her career.
Pamela was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in drama The Last Showgirl - which tells the tale of a middle-aged Las Vegas showgirl who is plunged into uncertainty when the show she has performed in for three decades announces it is closing.
But as she spoke about how she related to playing the role, a working mum and showgirl, at a screening in London, she revealed the plot related to her in ways she hadn't expected.
Asked about her relationship with co-star Billie Lourd, who plays her daughter, Pamela told MailOnline: 'I have two boys in this industry, and I think anytime your mother is sexualised in some way, even though in the moment when they're young and you think, they're young, it's not going to hurt them, but it hurts them, and they carry it with them.
'You will face your adult children, and beg for their forgiveness, because I've been there.'
Brandon and Dylan's lives have been as much of a rollercoaster ride as their parents Pamela and Tommy Lee's relationship was (both pictured in 1997
She added: 'We just do the best we can, and there's no perfect way of being a parent. I felt there was so much there to discover, and it was good for both of us.
'It's even emotional to talk about it, and it was very cathartic making this film, because I got to pour my heart [into it] and look at things differently.
'Being a working mom and being in this entertainment world and having your mom be sexualised in some way - I didn't realise how difficult it was.'
Brandon and Dylan's lives have been as much of a rollercoaster ride as their parents' relationship was.
Paparazzi would follow the family around, hoping to get a glimpse of the boys, but according to Brandon, his mother did her best to shelter him and his brother from the spotlight by making them feel normal.
'The normal thing to do as a parent is, of course, to make your kids feel like everything is normal and fine,' he told Interview magazine in 2019.
'I remember one day asking my mom, 'Hey, why does everybody take photos of us?' And she said, 'Oh, they do that to everybody.'
'Then, I remember being with one of my friends' families when I was, like, 10, and we walked into dinner somewhere, and I said to them, 'Hey, why does nobody take photos of you guys?''
Pamela also spoke about her attempts to 'protect' her boys while chatting with Interview recently, explaining: 'I was very, very protective without having them feel like they were being overprotected.
'We didn't have nannies, I didn't have babysitters, I only trusted my family around my kids.'
The boys have admitted to being exposed to drugs, alcohol, and sex 'at a much younger age' than other kids, which resulted in Brandon struggling with alcoholism for many years.
He even once got into a nasty feud with his famous rock star dad, which erupted after Tommy spoke ill of Pamela in an interview and saw Brandon punch his father in the face.
Pamela and Liam's sons have likely experienced similar situations growing up in the public eye that they can connect over.
Liam sparked initial romance rumours with Pamela in October when he said he was 'madly in love' with the Playboy cover girl.
'She's just terrific to work with,' Liam told People.
'I can't compliment her enough, I'll be honest with you. No huge ego. She just comes in to do the work. She's funny and so easy to work with. She's going to be terrific in the film.'
'Our chemistry was clear from the start. We have the utmost respect for one another,' Anderson told EW last month.
'I invited him and his assistant over for romantic dinners with me and my assistant so our relationship stayed "professionally romantic" during filming.'
The Canadian-American beauty and Liam bonded over their shared 'love of literature and a good laugh' and she regularly left cookies, muffins, and homebaked sourdough bread in his dressing room.
'I am in awe of him, his experience, and work ethic. I soaked him in like a sponge,' Pamela gushed.
'I'm hoping people love it. We had so much fun making it. I think it's timely for a beloved comedy like this. I'm a fan of the originals. As Liam says, "We could all use a good giggle." I pray we do more.'
And the feeling was definitely mutual for Neeson, who gushed to People last October: 'I'm madly in love with her. No huge ego. She just comes in to do the work. She's funny and so easy to work with. She's going to be terrific in the film.'
Last week Pamela set the record straight on romance rumours between the pair as the Baywatch queen posed for Entertainment Weekly for their digital cover.
And unfortunately there is no romance yet. 'I think I have a friend forever in Liam,' she said. 'And we definitely have a connection that is very sincere, very loving, and he's a good guy.'
The Naked Gun - hitting US/UK theaters August 1 - also features Paul Walter Hauser, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Busta Rhymes, Cody Rhodes, Liza Koshy, and Eddie Yu.
Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker wrote and directed the original trilogy spanning 1988-1994, which amassed a total $476.4M at the global box office, following the short-lived ABC series Police Squad in 1982.
The Oscar-nominated actor is technically five years older than original Naked Gun star Leslie Nielsen was when he shot the third film.
Anderson previously worked with the late funnyman - who died, age 84, in 2010 - in Scary Movie 3 (2003) and Superhero Movie (2008), but they did not share any scenes together.
For Liam, the romance with Pamela would mark the end of a protracted spell on the sidelines, having remained stoically single following the sudden death of actress wife Natasha in 2009 - 15-years after they exchanged vows.
Richardson was just 45 when she died of an epidural hematoma, two days after sustaining a head injury during a beginner's skiing lesson in Canada.
A subsequent post mortem revealed that Richardson died from bleeding in her skull caused by the fall on a ski slope in Mont Tremblant.
'It was a horrible thing to happen,' he later told PEOPLE of the skiing accident that claimed Richardson's life.