Cinemao Secret of Liam Neeson for comedy: Don’t try to be funny

Even by phone, you can feel the severity of Liam Neeson. No matter that he has attended the call to an interview in the section “Last Word”, Centered vaguely in its remarkable comic performance in the reboot of Run the police are coming!. It is still the same man who has played so much a master Jedi how much a supervillain of Batman; she starred Schindler’s list (1993), from Steven Spielbergand reinvented itself as an action star in the final phase of his career with the franchise Relentless search. So when Neeson responds to a simple “how are you?” With a dry “worse”, it takes a moment to realize that the consecrated actor is actually trying to tear laughter.

Run the police are coming!which debuted last weekend, is one of the most funny comedies of the most funny studio to hit theaters in years. And many of your quick and electrifying gags work thanks to the tension between the expectations we have about Neeson – in which he rests on the scene – and the pastellam chaos he causes as Frank Drebin Jr. It is a perfect lineup, an implicit reference to the fact that the actor who interpreted the Frank Drebin Original in Movies Run the police are coming! and in its predecessor comedy series, Police Squad!it was also better known for dramatic roles: Leslie Nielsen.

In conversation with Rolling Stone, Neeson He spoke about his absolutely serious approach to comedy, the lessons he learned as an amateur boxer, the importance of punctuality – and more.

What was the best advice you ever received?
“Keep the composure,” a professional actor told me years ago.

What would you like to have told you about acting when you were starting?
That the ups would be amazing – and the low, very low.

What is the worst part of success?
Someone once said, “It’s terrible when you’re talking about you – and even worse when you’re not.”

Do you have heroes in acting?
I like to go back to the old days, 1940s, 1950. I was very fond of Spencer Tracy as an interpreter, because he always looked very real. No false nose, no weird accents, these things – he was only there, present and true.

How do you try to incorporate this into your work?
If the audience believes in the words that are coming out of your mouth, this is enough for me.

What are some of your favorite books?
I love police novels. “Nordic Noir.” There is an author who passed away a few years ago, Henning Mankell. An excellent Nordic writer.

What songs still thrill you?
Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, U2. I really like The Wall, Pink Floyd. I saw live in 1983, perhaps in London. It was sensational.

You didn’t do many comedies. Which attracted you to star in the reboot of Run the police are coming!?
I was sought by Seth MacFarlane to find out if I was interested. And I had watched the original versions, which I liked – teased me a good laugh. So I said yes, it was interested, and we left it. Then I received the script, and found it funny – I had several good laughs there.

You were hilarious playing yourself in the series Life’s Too Shortfrom Ricky Gervais. The fun was that you wanted to make comedy, but it was terrible in that. What do you remember that filming?
People think it was improvised, but it was nothing like that. Each comma and point and comma were in the script written by Ricky. I was a little nervous to do that, I thought I was going to laugh all the time. But who laughed all the time was Ricky. It gave me confidence.

Which comedies are you a fan of?
As a child, he went to the Sabbath Matines a lot, and loved Laurel & Hardy, those short comedies of the 1920s and 1930s. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello as well. More modernly, Ben Stiller’s tropical thunder, always makes me laugh. Will ferrell movies. Mike Myers, Austin Powers. And Napoleon Dynamite, which I found sensational.

You grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Did comedy play an important role in your life at that time of such violence?
The cinema was certainly a great escape, whether comedy or not. It was a turbulent period. And escaping it was very, very important. School sports too – I was amateur boxer as a child.

I read that you would have taken a test to play at Bohemian Football Club, Ireland’s soccer team.
I don’t know where they took it from – it’s totally fake! I have two left feet when it comes to football.

Is there anything of your experiences as a boxer that you take to this day?
Preparation. And maintain a good physical form for life – and especially for main cinema roles. Because the work is demanding, the days are long. It’s good to be reasonably fit.

Just like you, the original star of Run the police are coming!Leslie Nielsen came from a more dramatic history. How has its dramatic sensitivity influenced comic?
In the movie, I try to interpret each scene as serious as possible. Perhaps a little more exaggerated at certain times. I don’t work to be funny – this is a rule I established for myself. Do not interpret for the comedy. The idea is that this appears naturally in interaction with other actors.

Have you seen his videos giving interviews with the fart machine?
I saw yes. I watched some.

Even there he can keep everything very serious.
Yes, it maintains seriousness, but it is a sweet, innocent mood, type kid of school.

Comedy is a matter of timing – but the same goes for action and fight choreography. Do you see any connection between the two?
I think so. It is an interesting question. You depend a lot on your director and editor, of course, especially in fighting sequences. In Run the police are coming!I was surrounded by excellent actors and actresses – especially Pamela Anderson. She’s sensational in the movie – sexy, funny and great to work together.

In relentless search, you have the famous phrase: “What I have are a very specific set of skills.” What specific skills have you acquired throughout your career?
With acting, you are always in search. Do you know what I mean? I never feel like “I’ve done”. There is always something new to learn, with the different actors and actresses with whom you work, and also with different directors. As I said before, I only try to be true. And arrive on time. This is very important. I hear disturbing stories about extremely talented actors and actresses that appear in the set with two, three, four hours late. I would never work with these people. I find this extremely disrespectful.

Punctuality is fundamental.
Yes, very, very important, in my opinion. Because there is a team of 60, 70, 80 people waiting for you. The least you can do is show respect coming on time.

+++ Read more: ‘Run the police come there’ yields a lot of laughs, but loses rhythm in the end