Liam Neeson holding a gun in front of a group of people on a plane in Non-Stop and smiling while hugging Thomas Brodie-Sangster in Red Nose Day ActuallyCustom image by Sean Morrison

SUMMARY

Liam Neeson’s career took a major turn with the success of “Taken” in 2008, leading to a string of action movie hits.
Neeson’s upcoming role in “The Naked Gun” reboot marks a significant shift from his recent action roles, showcasing his comedic talent.
With past experience in comedy films like “Ted 2,” Liam Neeson has the perfect style to bring new life to “The Naked Gun” franchise.

Liam Neeson has had a major career change in the past, and one of his upcoming movies is primed to establish him in another genre. For most of Neeson’s career, he was known for his dramatic movies like Schindler’s List and Michael Collins. Some of Liam Neeson’s best movies came from his time as a dramatic actor, though he had much more range than that. He has always taken various roles, even in action movies, but one of his movies marked a complete transformation for his entire career.

Neeson experienced a major career change after the release of Taken in 2008. The movie’s success turned him into one of the biggest action stars of the decade, and his later work created some of Liam Neeson’s best action movies. The success of his movies like The Grey and Non-Stop made it a very wise choice for his career, though his action movies have lost steam over the years. One of Neeson’s new movies could spark as big of a change to his career as Taken did, but for a new genre.

liam neeson taken the grey non stop

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The Naked Gun Reboot Marks Another Major Career Shift For Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson in a leather jacket looking tough and squinty eyed while pointing a gun, backdropped by Naked Gun star Leslie Nielsen making a hilarious comedy faceCustom Image by SR Image Editor

Liam Neeson will have his first major comedic role in the upcoming The Naked Gun reboot. He’ll be playing Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Leslie Nielsen’s character, who was an oblivious, bumbling detective. The Naked Gun could be a major shift for Neeson’s career, and though he will be playing a police officer, his character will be very different from his recent action roles. It seems like a huge, sudden change to his career after a 16-year-long run of action movies, but his performance in Taken also took viewers by surprise. Many people may not think of Neeson as a comedian, but The Naked Gun could change audiences’ perception of him.

The Naked Gun is set for a reboot via writer-director Akiva Schaffer, with Liam Neeson starring in the lead role. The film is rumored to have Liam Neeson playing the son of the former franchise protagonist, Detective Frank Drebin.

DirectorAkiva Schaffer
Release DateJuly 18, 2025
Distributor(s)Paramount Pictures
CastLiam Neeson

Liam Neeson’s New Role Pays Off An Old TV Show Joke

Micheál Richardson as Jack Foster and Liam Neeson as Robert Foster in Made in Italy.Custom Image by Yailin Chacon

In 2011, Liam Neeson appeared in a sketch on Ricky Gervais’ comedy show Life’s Too Short. In the sketch, Neeson played himself, and he wanted to start doing improvisational comedy. The joke was that Neeson was terrible at comedy and used depressing, overly-serious prompts. Neeson’s casting in The Naked Gun fulfills that sketch hilariously, as it shows he really is interested in comedy, though he should be much better than his Life’s Too Short appearance made him seem. The offbeat humor of the original The Naked Gun also resembles the sketch and meshes well with comedy he’s done in the past.

Liam Neeson Already Proved He’s A Great Comedic Actor

A Million Ways To Die In The West promo image.
Liam Neeson Ted 2 Liam Neeson as the History Channel anchor standing in front of his group of reporters holding muskets, a ghost from the Civil War, and a Minotaur in Anchorman 2 Liam Neeson as Robert Foster in Made in Italy. Tessa Thompson and Liam Neeson in Men in Black InternationalA Million Ways To Die In The West promo image. Liam Neeson Ted 2 Liam Neeson as the History Channel anchor standing in front of his group of reporters holding muskets, a ghost from the Civil War, and a Minotaur in Anchorman 2 Liam Neeson as Robert Foster in Made in Italy. Tessa Thompson and Liam Neeson in Men in Black International

The Naked Gun won’t be Neeson’s first foray into the comedy genre, as he has played multiple humorous characters before. He’s had parts in movies such as Ted 2, Anchorman 2, and A Million Ways to Die in the West. Neeson’s previous roles prove he has the perfect comedic style for The Naked Gun, and that he’s more than capable of delivering a hilarious performance. One of the best parts of Leslie Nielsen’s sense of humor was his commitment to the bit, and Neeson can perfectly replicate that. His past work has often seen Neeson delivering his lines in a deadly serious fashion, which only made him funnier.

Most of Neeson’s previous roles have come in the form of cameos, though, so The Naked Gun will be a chance for him to shine as the main character. The movie could also be the perfect opportunity for him to cement himself as a comedy star in much the same way Taken made him an action star: by letting him prove he can succeed in a new genre all by himself. Much of The Naked Gun‘s success will hinge on Liam Neeson‘s performance, and he’s proven he’s more than capable of reviving the series.