Pamela Anderson<\/a> (playing Beth Davenport, a sort of 2025 edition of Priscilla Presley\u2019s Jane Spencer) and directed and co-written by The Lonely Island\u2019s Akiva Schaffer, the legacy sequel to the original three films is awash in visual gags, absurd one-liners, terrible driving, comically OTT action scenes, sexual innuendo, at least one montage featuring an angry snowman and more than just a few very knowing nods to its predecessors.<\/p>\n\n\tBut while there may be many \u201cNaked Gun\u201d obsessives out there keen to discover if Neeson can come close to Nielsen\u2019s status as \u201cthe Laurence Olivier\u00a0of spoofs\u201d (thanks, Roger Ebert), one person who isn\u2019t particularly worried is Neeson himself. As he admits, despite leading the reboot, the last time he actually watched the original films was when they were in cinemas in the 1980s and 1990s. And, as a veteran actor himself, any requests for him to try to emulate Nielsen\u2019s classic facial expressions or deadpan monologue style \u2014\u00a0had they been made \u2014\u00a0would have fallen on deaf ears.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve done over 100 movies, so I don\u2019t need to someone to tell me how to act,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\n\tDespite Neeson\u2019s impressive list of credits, \u201cThe Naked Gun\u201d \u2014 which is film No. 106 \u2014 marks the Irishman\u2019s first comedy. But it\u2019s a comedy that could, if it does well, open up a whole new avenue for the actor, a dramatic leading man since \u201cSchindler\u2019s List\u201d whose later-in-life resurgence as a major action star (with a particular set of skills) is now, he admits, drawing to its natural end.<\/p>\n
\n\tAs he explains: \u201cI\u2019m 73, for fuck\u2019s sake. I don\u2019t want to be doing that stuff with a Zimmer frame.\u201d (that\u2019s a walker, for the Americans.)<\/p>\n
\t\tI\u2019d love to hear how your casting in \u201cNaked Gun\u201d came about. Did they reach out to you? Did you reach out to them? How did you come to be Frank Drebin Jr.?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI\u2019d made a film with Seth MacFarlane 10 years ago. And he got in touch with me three years, three-and-a-half years ago to see if I\u2019d be interested doing this reboot. I had a couple of apprehensions, but they didn\u2019t last very long.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat were those apprehensions?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tThe comedic stuff I\u2019d done were just TV skits, a couple of minutes long. But a movie \u2013 the co-lead in a movie for 90 minutes was a bit of a tall order. But I did know that if push came to shove and we did it, the script would be at least be good if Seth was involved because he\u2019s got a wicked sense of humor. If it\u2019s at the very least good, I shouldn\u2019t try to be funny. Just be serious. I knew there\u2019d be lots of sight gags.<\/p>\n
\t\tDid Seth say why they\u2019d approached you specifically?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI didn\u2019t ask. Someone mentioned that Ed Helms had been considered. And I thought that would be perfect, but a slightly different movie. <\/p>\n
\t\tHad they seen your TV skits, like in \u201cLife\u2019s Too Short\u201d and \u201cDerry Girls,\u201d and figured you\u2019d be good to play it straight in a comedy?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI don\u2019t know. But a lot of people seem to have seen the Ricky Gervais sketch. I also did a couple of little things for Stephen Colbert\u2019s show.<\/p>\n
\t\tSince the film was first announced, many people I\u2019ve spoken to about it have been quite shocked that another \u201cNaked Gun\u201d film was being made and you were playing the new Frank Drebin. It\u2019s provoked more of a reaction than most other films I talk about. What sort of response did you get when you told people?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tSome people said, \u201cOh yeah, I remember those, they were good, they were fun films.\u201d And people would say, \u201cYou\u2019re going to be the Leslie Nielsen character?\u201d and I\u2019d say \u201cYeah, but Leslie Nielsen Jr.\/Frank Drebin Jr.\u201d But if the producers had said I must bleach my hair for the role, there\u2019s no way I would have done that.<\/p>\n
\t\tBleaching your hair wasn\u2019t even on the cards?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tNo.<\/p>\n
\t\tI just wondered if people were shocked. Of all the roles you\u2019ve had over the years, this seems the most out there. How did the reaction to saying you were playing Frank Drebin compare to other roles?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tWell, it made me think about comedy. I grew up watching Laurel and Hardy on Saturday night. Plus Charlie Chaplin. I\u2019m a big fan of Will Ferrell. I\u2019ve seen a couple of his films. But I hadn\u2019t seen the \u201cNaked Gun\u201d films since I first saw them in the 1980s and 1990s.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat was your relationship with those original \u201cNaked Gun\u201d films? They\u2019ve obviously iconic and a lot of people watch them over and over again. But did you just see them the once?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tYeah, I saw them when they were in the cinema. They were a good giggle. Fun. School boy humor.<\/p>\n
\t\tDid you ever watch the \u201cPolice Squad\u201d series that came before them?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tNo, I never saw those. Certainly not growing up in Ireland. To my memory they weren\u2019t screened. \u201cAirplane,\u201d I remember that movie. Leslie\u2019s performance in that\u2026 I think that line \u201cDon\u2019t call me Shirley\u201d changed his professional life.<\/p>\n
\t\tAny hopes \u2014 or fears \u2014 this might do the same to your professional life?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tNo, I don\u2019t think so. But it was fun to make. It was lovely to work with Pamela. And Danny Huston, we\u2019ve done four movies together and he\u2019s an old pal. Paul Walter Hauser is ridiculously funny. Terrific actor.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-variety-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tLiam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. in \u201cThe Naked Gun.\u201d
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Paramount Pictures<\/p>\n
\t\tWhat was your approach to becoming Frank Drebin Jr.? Did you go back and study the films again?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tNo.<\/p>\n
\t\tYou didn\u2019t rewatch the films? Was that on purpose? Or you just didn\u2019t feel you needed to?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tNo, I just trusted the script. And knew it would get better the more they worked on it. Akiva was the co-writer but there was always another writer on set \u2014 a friend of Akiva\u2019s, obviously \u2014 and they would supply alternate endings to scenes. Try this, try that.<\/p>\n
\t\tWas there any attempt to emulate Leslie Nielsen or was there a Leslie Nielsen expert on set? A lot of what he does is in the facial expressions.\t<\/p>\n
\n\tNo, those sort of notes I wouldn\u2019t have accepted. I\u2019ve done over 100 movies, so I don\u2019t need someone to tell me how to act.<\/p>\n
\t\tBut was there anything specific you were told about how to play Frank Drebin Jr.? Anything written down in terms of what he was like and how he should be?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tNo. Just that he\u2019s very serious and very committed to being a policeman.<\/p>\n
\t\tWith this role, it\u2019s all about keeping the straightest face possible while chaos is erupting around you and you\u2019re saying ridiculous lines. Are you just particularly good at that, or do you have a method for not breaking down into laughter on set?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tNo, that didn\u2019t happen. When we rehearsed stuff, we\u2019d get rid of our personal giggles. And some of the scene require certain choreography \u2014 sight gags and stuff like that. I don\u2019t want to say it was always serious, far from it. But it was serious business, of course, shooting any movie and keeping a sense of lightness. You know, that\u2019s very important.<\/p>\n
\t\tThere are many ridiculous scenes in this. Were there any where you \u2014 perhaps you and Pamela \u2014 struggled to keep a straight face?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tNo. There weren\u2019t. Pamela and I have been talking about it. Obviously we\u2019d rehearse and giggle at some stuff, but when we shot it we did what we had to do. No, it never really broke down. I can\u2019t remember occasions like that.<\/p>\n
\t\tYou\u2019ve spoken a lot about working with Pamela and there was an interview a few months ago where you said you were \u201cin love with her,\u201d which obviously sparked a few headlines. Was that just a throwaway line?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tYeah, it was just a throwaway line. I admire her very much and just wanted to acknowledge the fact she\u2019s terrific. No airs and graces, no big ego. She\u2019s there to do the work. She\u2019s just a lovely human being.<\/p>\n
\t\tAnd she\u2019s having a bit of a moment right now.\t<\/p>\n
\n\tYeah, she is. Doing these wonderful independent films.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tPamela Anderson plays Beth Davenport and Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr. in \u201cThe Naked Gun.\u201d
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFrank Masi<\/p>\n
\t\tThere was an interview with her recently in which she said she arranged romantic dinners with you during the shoot so that you could stay \u201cprofessionally romantic.\u201d\t<\/p>\n
\n\tWe had dinner a couple of times. She\u2019s a wonderful baker. She made me sourdough bread. And her assistant made some beautiful muffins. Gluten-free muffins. Terrific. She\u2019s very into her gardening back home. But yeah, we had a couple of meals together.<\/p>\n
\t\tThere are several sex scenes between the two of you. I feel like there\u2019s actually more sex and sexual innuendo in this \u201cNaked Gun\u201d than the previous films. Or maybe it just went over my head as a teenager, but some of it really pushes it to the edge.\t<\/p>\n
\n\tYeah, there\u2019s a couple of outlandish scenes. From day one we just seemed to have a nice chemistry together and I trusted that and didn\u2019t want to work on it. Like, there\u2019s something happening here, it\u2019s nice, so just leave it alone and it\u2019ll grow, you know?<\/p>\n
\t\tI\u2019m impressed that you were able to do those scenes, which look so hilarious and insane, and not start cracking up yourself. That feels like a real art form.\t<\/p>\n
\n\tYeah, there were a couple of lines I remember as the script developed that I said, \u201cThat\u2019s too much, that\u2019s way, way too much.\u201d But at the end of the day, I always trust Akiva. There were references in one scene to some TV show that to me was like ancient Arabic. What the fuck am I saying? And he\u2019d be like, \u201cDon\u2019t you know this show, \u2018Buffy the Vampire Slayer\u2019 or something like that.\u201d But he said they\u2019d done a screening and it plays, it gets a laugh.<\/p>\n
\t\tI feel like I haven\u2019t seen a film as silly as this for a very long time. It made me realize how much I\u2019ve missed silly films. There were so many of them in the \u201980s and \u201990s and it feels like, especially in this day and age when the world is so serious and miserable, we could really do with them.\t<\/p>\n
\n\tYou said it, we\u2019re living in these awfully concerning times. We all need a giggle and those films epitomized that. So it\u2019s a lovely, innocent release. So we\u2019ll see how it does and how audiences react to it. Certainly, the trailers seemed to work very well, especially with young audiences too that weren\u2019t brought up in those films.<\/p>\n
\t\tWas that a surprise? I had the feeling that this would be more for people of a certain age who remember the originals.\t<\/p>\n
\n\tYeah, I was kind of surprised by it. My two sons told me they got calls from their buddies saying they thought the first trailer was very cool.<\/p>\n
\t\tThis is your first comedy film. You became an action star later in life with \u201cTaken.\u201d Has that era closed? Could this be the new dawn of Liam Neeson, the straight-faced funnyman?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tThe first \u201cTaken\u201d was 18 years ago, I was 54. Feels like a lifetime ago. I still get offered the occasional one. But I\u2019m 73, for fuck\u2019s sake. I don\u2019t want to insult audiences if they\u2019re watching whole fight scenes and it\u2019s not me. I just wouldn\u2019t do it. Up until recently, I liked doing my own fight stuff. But I don\u2019t want to be doing that stuff with a Zimmer frame or walking stick. Sure, there might be another one out there, but nothing definite on the horizon.<\/p>\n
\t\tBut did this make you think, perhaps comedy could be a nice, gentler, less fighter genre to move into?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tSure. Yeah. But I\u2019m a big believer in writers and the script. That\u2019s the foundation stone, no matter what the genre. Except horror. I won\u2019t do horror.<\/p>\n
\t\tAny reason why not horror? Lots of actors are moving into it these days.\t<\/p>\n
\n\tAs a kid I would have loved it \u2014 the early Dracula films and Frankenstein, all that stuff, the Hammer movies, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing. But no, it\u2019s just my taste.<\/p>\n
\t\tWhen Leslie Nielsen started working with Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker on their comedies, it came to define his image. Do you think you could go back to serious films now you\u2019ve done \u201cNaked Gun\u201d?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tI think so. I hope so. I guess it\u2019s all a question mark. Let\u2019s see.<\/p>\n
\t\tHas there been any discussion about doing more \u201cNaked Gun\u201d films?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tNo. I think we\u2019ll wait and see how it performs.<\/p>\n
\t\tNow you\u2019ve made \u201cNaked Gun,\u201d are you planning to go back and watch the originals?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tNo plans. If it was on, I\u2019d watch it. But I\u2019ve no plans to revisit it.<\/p>\n
\t\tIs it just a delightful coincidence that your name and Leslie Nielsen\u2019s name are very similar?\t<\/p>\n
\n\tThat is strange. I\u2019ve been asked that a few times. \u201cMr. Nielsen?\u201d \u201cSorry, I don\u2019t know who that is.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 30 years after the \u201cNaked Gun\u201d franchise enjoyed its \u201cFinal Insult\u201d in 1994, arguably the world\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40214,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[96,20227,7521,2839,7522,19193,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-40213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-leslie-nielsen","tag-liam-neeson","tag-movies","tag-pamela-anderson","tag-the-naked-gun","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}