The one clip that proves Liam Neeson is perfect for ‘The Naked Gun’
It’s a question that nobody besides Seth MacFarlane has ever shown much interest in answering to any great extent, but does Liam Neeson have what it takes to headline a comedy?
The Academy Award-nominated star carved out his niche for playing father figures, wizened sages, and mentors alike following his initial rise to prominence. However, Taken heralded a full-blown pivot into action hero territory that’s still going on more than a decade and a half after Neeson let the world know that he had a certain knack for throat-punching Eastern European henchmen.
The biggest test of his comedic credentials by far comes when The Naked Gun reboot hits cinemas in July 2025, with the daunting task of stepping into Leslie Nielsen’s shoes only serving to heap more pressure upon his replacement as the pratfalling face of the classic series. Not only that, but Neeson has never headlined a major mainstream Hollywood comedy before, so nobody really knows how things are going to pan out.
Having already utilised his deadpan stylings in A Million Ways to Die in the West, Ted 2, Family Guy, and The Orville, though, MacFarlane knows more about Neeson’s funny bone than most, although that confidence was hardly reflected in the leading man admitting that “it’ll either finish my career or bring it in another direction.” With his ass-kicking days drawing to a close, maybe comedy will signal the next chapter in the actor’s storied career.
One of the most important elements of Nielsen’s Naked Gun trilogy was the insistence that the cast play things completely straight, something that was also true of his initial reinvention in Airplane. The solemnity of his performance while delivering such ridiculous material captured comedic lightning in a bottle, which happens to be something Neeson has previously displayed to wondrous effect.
In the first episode of Warwick Davis, Ricky Gervais, and Stephen Merchant’s mockumentary series Life’s Too Short, Neeson appears as a version of himself that completely fails to understand what improvisation is, and it’s comfortably the most side-splittingly hilarious he’s ever been on-screen.
Treating his craft like a true thespian while struggling to get to grips with why his hypothetical character shouldn’t use serious illnesses and encounters with sex workers as a means to mine comedy gold, Neeson can’t help himself from repeatedly bringing his improv around to Aids. It’s painfully awkward and uncomfortable, but it’s proof enough in microcosm that The Naked Gun might just be in the right hands.
One person who won’t be pleased either way is the original’s co-writer Pat Proft, who said as much to The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m not happy, and there’s a story with it,” he offered. “But I’m not pleased. It may come out and may be great – and good for that – but I sure as fuck should be writing it. We’ve been totally blocked out of it. The unfortunate part of it is that Paramount owns it, so they can do what they fucking want.”
The creative team who gifted the world with The Naked Gun might not be happy it even exists, but if Neeson is on Life’s Too Short form, then it might be worth it in the end.
