10-08-2025
Ryan Tubridy: Is Pam and Liam's supposed romance any of our business?
I interviewed Liam Neeson a few years ago on The Late Late Show and, as always, it was a most enjoyable conversation that covered his upbringing and extraordinary career.
We talked about everything from Schindler's List to Taken and we laughed about how his mother used to sit in the audience of the show on occasion as she loved the buzz of live television. As you can imagine, Liam is easy company and widely admired around the world.
I recall how we were posing for a press photograph and we stood there, smiling as per usual, until he said 'right, now let's do Blue Steel' a reference to the Ben Stiller character in Zoolander whose signature pose was ridiculous but very funny.
I didn't see that silliness coming but was delighted to know that Liam Neeson had an inner goofball that he kept well-hidden with the odd exception (check out his cameo in the Ricky Gervais show, Extras – it's a masterclass). Ryan Tubridy. Pic: Instagram/Ryan Tubridy
Part of the reason people like him is how he handled the death of his wife, Natasha with such dignity. It was a desperate and untimely death from a brain bleed sustained in a skiing accident in 2009.
Since then, people have focused on Liam's acting career and tend not to bother him with questions about his personal life.
That all changed in the past few weeks as Liam and his latest co-star, Pamela Anderson, have been charming media gatherings the world over as they promote their new movie, The Naked Gun (more on that below).
At first, their flirtatious banter and tactile moves were considered cute and very charming but, as the days went by, speculation grew that they might be a couple in real life and everyone started to take more notice. BERLIN, GERMANY – JULY 24: US actress Pamela Anderson and british-irish actor Liam Neeson attend the Berlin premiere of the movie 'The Naked Gun' (German Title: Die Nackte Kanone) at UCI Luxe East Side Gallery on July 24, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Tristar Media/WireImage)
Anderson is as famous as Liam. In fact, she's possibly even more well-known than the Irishman. Formerly a Baywatch star, more recently she has become something of a feminist icon as she goes make-up free and chooses eye-catching roles in films like The Last Showgirl.
She hasn't had a particularly easy life and the feeling is that here are two people of a certain vintage who have lived full and not always simple lives in the public eye and maybe, just maybe, have now fallen in love.
But I really need to pause here for a moment. The truth is that no one knows what the truth is! Are they a couple or just good friends? Is their playful approach to the publicity circuit simply a bit of craic which they both laugh about as they go their separate ways at the end of a long day? And, frankly, is it any of our business?
The answer to the last question is a big NO, and yet, here I am writing a column all about this very thing. The reason I'm doing so is that the whole story has brought the world an awful lot of joy. It's cute, charming, heartening, romantic, hopeful and sweet. How many stories can we use those adjectives about in August 2025? Pamela Anderson as Beth and Liam Neeson as Frank in The Naked Gun. Pic: Paramount Pictures
There's so much negativity about the place that lots of people simply refuse to watch the news any more. There are those who only watch 'news' that feeds their prejudices but that's for another day. Today I'm talking about the people who find the world a dark and grim place and so when this shining beacon of a yarn comes along, we hang onto it because the world needs a distraction.
I have no idea if Liam and Pamela are an 'item' or not but, if they are, I wish them every happiness imaginable, and if they aren't I want to thank them for bringing a splash of colour to the grey skies.
As for the film itself, well, The Naked Gun is tremendous. I had forgotten how many awful dad jokes these moves squeezed into 80 gloriously goofy minutes.
Growing up, we gorged on the Airplane films, Police Squad and latterly, the Naked Gun trilogy. The late Leslie Nielsen was the ultimate slapstick leading man who took every comedic curveball with the seriousness of a Shakespearian thespian.
As a sidebar, I interviewed him once, and before the show we met at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin where he ordered a glass of wine which he not only spilled but also broke the glass. I didn't know where the reality stopped and the comedy ended! LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 22: Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson attend the UK Premiere of 'The Naked Gun' at Cineworld Leicester Square on July 22, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage)
Anyway, back to the reboot, and here we have Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr, the son of Leslie Nielsen's character, playing opposite Pamela Anderson as an unimpeachable femme fatale.
They both play their roles so straight while cracking unforgivable one-liners – like 'Take a seat, please…' at which point she takes a chair and drags it out of the room as she's leaving. So silly.
I loved it and must admit that the off-screen 'maybe romance' story made me want to see the film (and yes, the chemistry is comedy-great).
With a running time of just 80 minutes, it's the perfect way to escape from reality and roar laughing at the goofiest film of the year.
Keeping it positive for today, I want to mention Tim Minchin and what he said to me when we met recently.
By way of reminder/introduction, Tim is an Australian lyricist, comedian and singer who wrote the music and words for Mathilda – The Musical (which, if you're ever in London, you should go and see), as adapted from the book by Roald Dahl.
We met once before when he was on the Late Late and we told him that his performance had to be three minutes long. At first, he was bothered by the brevity but then sang a song all about being told he had to do a three-minute song – brilliant.
When we met recently, we chatted about the life advice he gave students he addressed on receiving an honorary doctorate. The expression that really struck and stayed with me was that we should all be pro-stuff and not just anti-stuff. It's a simple credo but one that made me think about how I approach certain topics and even people. So I resolved to give it a go, and so far, so pro!
