One of the funniest gags in huge new comedy movie was Liam Neeson’s idea

Oscar-nominee Liam Neeson did 'not need any convincing to be silly'.

The film is a reboot of the classic Leslie Nielsen-starring trilogy of comedies that spoof cop dramas. Oscar-nominee Liam Neeson stars in the new sequel as Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr, the son of Nielsen's character in the originals.

Neeson is perfectly cast in the comedy. While the movie is dense with witty one-liners, as well as absurd visual gags and situations, the Irish actor rarely tones down his trademark intense gravitas, playing all the scenes straight in a way that truly maximises the humour.

In fact, Neeson's co-star Paul Walter Hauser tells JOE that the Irishman was so funny on-set, that Hauser struggled to get through certain scenes without "giggling like a five-year-old".

Despite this, however, Neeson reveals he was slightly nervous to headline a big comedy for the first time.

The Oscar nominee says to JOE:

"I had done a couple of little TV skits and they were maybe two minutes long, three minutes. But a film, that's at least 90 minutes long.

"It was a little bit intimidating. But there was a part of me that trusted something inside myself - not that I thought I'm funny but just, I thought I would be okay if I'm surrounded with a great group of actors and actresses.

"Akiva Schaffer, our writer/director, I trusted implicitly and the note I gave myself each day was: 'Just be serious, don't try and be funny.'"

Indeed, Schaffer - also well-known for being a member of comedy trio The Lonely Island - is full of praise for Neeson.

When we mention how the Irish actor was nervous about starring in a comedy, Schaffer notes: "He's very humble. He knew enough [that] it was a good idea to say yes to [producer Seth MacFarlane] when Seth brought it up.

"What [The Naked Gun creators Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker] did was hire dramatic actors who could just play the scenes real and then it'd be 10 times funnier how ridiculous the script was and what's happening is.

"So, we were using their template. That's why it's Liam Neeson, not Will Ferrell."

Hauser also says Neeson makes for a "weirdly perfect" successor to Leslie Nielsen.

"It's not just that their names sound oddly similar. It's like Dermot Mulroney and Dylan McDermott," Hauser jokes.

"I think it works because Liam is a classically trained dramatic actor, who's done action, and Leslie was of a similar background.

"They're turning it on its head by lampooning and parodying the very thing that they've made careers on previously. So that in of itself is oddly fated, such a weirdly fated thing."

Producer Erica Huggins reiterates this point, stating: "[Neeson] had the baggage in all the right ways. He was a dramatic actor with a certain kind of gravitas that we all expect to be a certain way," an expectation that could then he twisted for comedic effect.

That being said, director Schaffer explains that one of the funniest gags in the movie came from Neeson himself.

The filmmaker revealed to JOE:

"[Neeson] did not need any convincing to be silly. The shot that's in the trailer where you see him in the little girl outfit with the strawberry underpants, the strawberry underpants were his idea.

"So, he did not need anything. But he did at the end of day go: 'Is it working?'

When JOE brings up the strawberry underwear to Neeson, he says:

"I certainly wanted the skirt a little bit shorter. I just thought it would be a more funny visual gag."

Another actor who gets to showcase their comedic chops in The Naked Gun is Pamela Anderson, who plays Beth, a femme fatale who becomes entangled in Drebin Jr's investigation.

The actress' follow-up to her Golden Globe-nominated turn in this year's excellent drama, The Last Showgirl, Anderson says working on a comedy was a fun change of pace.

"It was a pleasure," she tells JOE. "To go from a little indie film [like The Last Showgirl] into a big studio picture was another wild kind of experience, to have so many people on the set.

"But I just really was excited to work with Liam and have a good time. The script was hysterical.

"I auditioned for the part, and so I was really pleased when I got the role, and it was a lot of fun."

Speaking to Anderson and Neeson together, it's clear the pair have become good friends during the making of The Naked Gun.

When we ask if they will collaborate again on a sequel, though, they say it's too early to tell.

"It has to do well," Anderson notes, while Neeson adds: "It all depends on the box office."

That said, hopes are high for its success, with producer Huggins saying: "I think a lot of people are looking at this movie because it is a big studio clear comedy to say: 'Yes or no: Will comedy still work in the marketplace?'

"We're hoping they do, from the way the audience seems to like being in a group, laughing together. It feels like that is something that just brings joy to everybody, and I think we all need it right now."

On this point, Hauser adds: "People need to laugh, so I really hope they go out of their way to see The Naked Gun in the theatre with a bunch of strangers and share that cathartic feeling of laughing in a room with people."

The Naked Gun is out in cinemas now.