Liam Neeson: 'Chemistry I have with Pamela Anderson is so rare for me'

The Naked Gun stars say they discovered comedic muscles and parts of themselves on set

If Liam Neeson has learnt anything after starring in his first major comedy, it's this: you can't force funny.

“The only note I gave to myself each day was be serious,” Neeson tells The National. “I told myself, try not to be funny – because there's nothing more embarrassing than seeing a film and someone is trying to be funny.”

There's another lesson, too, one the Irish actor, 73, has had to relearn many times over the years: you can't force chemistry, either.

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Neeson has starred in more than 100 movies – but never has he connected with another actor quite the way he did with Pamela Anderson on the set of The Naked Gun.

“I had lovely chemistry with Pamela, and I thought: 'Don't touch this. This is just working.' Which was lovely. And it's rare – certainly for me it is," Neeson says.

Even during our conversation with Neeson and Anderson, who People reports have fallen in love in real life, their chemistry is clear. At times, the two burst out laughing, quoting to each other some of their favourite bits from the film, which opens in Middle East cinemas on Thursday.

The Naked Gun, directed by Akiva Schaffer, is a legacy sequel to the 1980s and 1990s film trilogy starring Leslie Nielsen and helmed by the famed trio Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker (Airplane!). In it, Neeson plays the son of Nielsen's character Frank Drebin – and has followed in his father's footsteps as an idiosyncratic detective.

Neither Neeson and Anderson are, at first glance, obvious choices for an absurdist comedy. But as production went on, both discovered comedic muscles they didn't know they had – and rediscovered parts of themselves they had long forgotten.

In one long sequence, Anderson's character Beth jumps on stage with a jazz band to create a diversion for Frank Jr. Anderson's character then launches into an extended improvisational jazz singing session – known as scat. To director Schaffer's surprise, it was a skill she already had – and it just so happened to be a key part of his script.

Anderson says: “I used to be in a jazz band when I was in eighth grade, and I would do all the scat solos because nobody else would do it. Then, when I was doing an audition, I told Akiva: 'I do scat.' He said: 'You know what, now?'

“I then did my eighth grade scat for him, and he said: 'OK, I think you've got the job.'”

Audiences have become used to modern comedies being heavy on improvisation and light on script. The Naked Gun, meanwhile, featured almost no improvisation – even in Anderson's “improvisational jazz” session.

For a comedy, The Naked Gun includes surprisingly little improvisation, the actors say. Photo: Paramount Pictures

“That whole thing was scripted. I had to learn the whole thing,” says Anderson. “And it was so much longer than it appears in the film. It starts a bit Fabulous Baker Boys and by the end, I was just making Super Mario noises. Akiva was just sitting there giggling behind the camera.”

Paul Walter Hauser, who plays Frank Jr's partner, has acted in many comedies before – and was surprised to find that, for the first time, he wouldn't be improvising.

“I've done dramas where I had to improvise more than this movie,” Hauser says. “I'd been a fan of Akiva back from his days in the Lonely Island on Saturday Night Live, and seeing how silly they are on screen, I assumed he'd be silly in real life. But he was far more thoughtful and collegiate about the same thing. There was a severity to his approach, in a good way."

Drector Akiva Schaffer, centre, with Paul Walter Hauser, left, and Neeson. Photo: Paramount Pictures

Schaffer got the strategy after watching nearly every spoof movie ever made, studying what worked and what didn't. In his mind, the only way The Naked Gun would work is if he approached the film's story structure much like Neeson did his performance – with utmost seriousness.

“With those old movies, audiences leave saying: 'The story didn't matter, it's just a bunch of jokes, it's great!' And I think that's the magic trick that they're pulling off,” Schaffer says.

“In reality, the story has to be so clear, easy to follow and engaging that you can, as an audience member, throw it away and not pay attention to it. If the story moves too slowly or isn't interesting enough, the jokes stop working.

“When I watched old spoof movies that didn't work, it was because the story was less engaging. You have to make such a good story that the audience can ignore it."

Neeson, meanwhile, didn't go back and watch a single one. “I had to trust the script – and trust my cast. I didn't let my ego get above any other actor. And they're all superb,” Neeson says. “Pamela, especially.”

The result has been nearly universally lauded, with the film earning rave reviews from critics around the world.

As Hauser puts it: “I think Liam Neeson just saved comedy.”

The Naked Gun is in UAE cinemas on Thursday