When Liam Neeson revealed that he would be retiring from action movies this year, you would’ve been forgiven for thinking that he would go back to the dramatic roles that he originally built his career on. It appears that the actor may be intent on taking his career in another direction entirely, one that could see him become the face of another genre. Or see his career go down in flames, but Taken 3 may have already been responsible for that.
In a recent appearance on People (the TV Show!) and reported by Screen Rant, the actor revealed that Seth Macfarlane had approached him to perhaps head up his long-gestating Naked Gun reboot:
I’ve been approached by Seth MacFarlane and Paramount Studios to maybe resurrect the Naked Gun films. It’ll either finish my career or bring it in another direction. I honestly don’t know.
The Naked Gun TV series and movie trilogy was famous for how it spoofed the tropes of many cop films, thanks to the ridiculous slapstick and outrageous humour of its star, Leslie Nielsen. The late actor starred as inept police detective Frank Drebin but always played the role straight with skills that were honed by his background in more dramatic film roles. Airplane! in 1980 revealed that he was a master of deadpan delivery, and resurrected his career as a comedy legend.
For MacFarlane, this is a project he has been working on since 2013, with Ed Helms initially cast in the role of Drebin. It appears that Helms is out of the picture now and MacFarlane believes that Neeson has what it takes to replicate Nielson’s iconic performances, something which would be incredibly remarkable if he could pull that off.
Could we see Neeson typecast as the face of spoof comedies as he changes the direction of his career or should he perhaps just look at retiring to a remote island where he can enjoy counting all his acting cash? Shirley not.
Last Updated: January 20, 2021
Original Heretic
January 20, 2021 at 03:01
Okay, but Nielsen apparently had ZERO sense of humour when he did airplane. He got the role because he saw it as a straight role, he didn’t see the humour in it.
Iskape
January 20, 2021 at 03:05
I’m struggling to see how this will work!
Alien Emperor Trevor
January 20, 2021 at 03:15
My problem isn’t Liam Neeson, my problem is Seth MacFarlane. A parody needs smart humour to be really good, and while he can do smart his default humour setting is easy.
Insomnia is fun
January 20, 2021 at 03:16
Surely he’s talented enough
https://dubioustaste.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/airplane.gif
Mandalorian Jim
January 20, 2021 at 04:02
Nielson wasn’t actually a comedian when started in cinema, in fact he opted mostly for serious roles, but that changed after he made airplane.
This could actually work with Liam Neeson because the guy may seem like “just another action star or just a romantic lead”, but if you ever catch his interviews he has a wit and a sense of comedic timing that’s actually amazing. As for Seth McFarlane, the guy knows comedy, and if you dislike his work, you’re probably a Karen.
Dee ham
January 20, 2021 at 15:04
that is more correct than you realise. he spent the first half of his career doing dramatic roles. almost for 25 years (citation needed)