LIAM NEESON looks set to turn his hand to comedy with a starring role in Seth MacFarlane’s remake of The Naked Gun.
The Ballymena-born actor revealed in a recent interview with People that he is being lined up to star in a remake of the 1988 cop spoof comedy hit.
“I’ve been approached by Seth MacFarlane and Paramount Studios to maybe resurrect the Naked Gun films,” Neeson said.
“It’ll either finish my career or bring it in another direction. I honestly don’t know.”
The plans come in the wake of Neeson’s announcement that he would be retiring from action films after more than a decade as Hollywood’s go-to tough guy.
Once an actor associated with critically-lauded films like Schindler’s List, 2008’s Taken saw the Northern Irishman emerge as a favourite among action movie fans.
However, Neeson is now keen to hang up his hat and taken on less physical roles.
He told Entertainment Tonight: "I'm 68 and a half. 69 this year. There's a couple more I'm going to do this year - hopefully, Covid allowing us - there's a couple in the pipeline and, then I think that will probably be it. Well, unless I'm on a Zimmer frame or something."
Despite his plans to eventually retire from the genre, Neeson said he still loves making action movies and going up against younger actors.
"I love doing 'em. I love beating up guys half my age,” he said.
"I've just finished one in Australia and I had a fight scene with a kid - lovely, sweet actor called Taylor - and halfway through the fight I looked up, I was breathless and it didn't cost him a cent, and I said, 'Taylor, what age are you?' He said, '25.'
"I said, 'That's the age of my eldest son!'"
There is still an appetite for Neeson-led action movies too with his latest effort, The Marksman, topping the box office in the US ahead of Wonder Woman 1984.
While a move into comedy might appear a left field choice, Neeson does have some experience in the genre having popped up to hilarious effect in the Ricky Gervais’s sitcom Life’s Too Short and in Anchorman 2.
He’s also worked with MacFarlane on A Million Ways to Die in the West, Ted 2, Family Guy, and The Orville.
Neeson would have some sizeable shoes to fill should he star in The Naked Gun with previous actor and central protagonist Leslie Nielsen making his name off the back of the films and TV series.
Once regarded as a dramatic actor known for films like The Poseidon Adventure and Forbidden Planet, Nielsen became synonymous with spoof comedy off the back of the Naked Gun films.
He went on to star in the Mel Brooks comedy Dracula: Dead and Loving it as well as The Wrongfully Accused and a host of other send-up films.
